Your family is what
by 6-4 pilot
Summary: Going steady for a few weeks and having met her parents already, Tony and Violet decided that it was time to meet Tony's own parents. Unfortunately, they'll learn more about his parents than they would like for them or anyone to know. To make matters worse, an enemy from their past comes to take revenge on them and their son.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Well this is a story that's been up in my mind for awhile now. Not sure why it was, but it stayed enough that I wrote a chapter or two of this. If enough people like this, I may continue this story along with the others I have.**

* * *

In a rather luscious home, a teenage girl was combing her hair in preparation for her dinner meet up with her boyfriend. The girl was quite attractive for her age, her hair was a lovely black color and her blue eyes were like oceans, clear and glean brightly if looked at the right way. To many, she was simply a girl that had rich parents, but unknown to most, this girl was a super, a group of gifted humans that were born with super human abilities such as flight and super strength. Her power was the ability to go invisible and create force fields. And her name was Violet Parr, daughter to the famous Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, some of the best superheroes in their time. And as stated before, she was getting ready for her dinner meetup with her boyfriend, Tony Ryder, a non-super. They've been dating for some time now and her parents have decided it was time to see Tony for themselves, see if he's right for their daughter. So, they asked Violet to invite Tony over for dinner tonight, something she agreed to. Despite already having a good opinion on him already, due to calling in some favors from the government, they wanted to get to know him more personally. When she told him about it, Tony was onboard and told her that he'll see her tonight.

Violet was humming to herself as she combed her hair, wanting to look as best as possible for tonight. Once she was satisfied with how her hair looked, she left the bathroom and walked to the kitchen, where her mother was cooking while her dad was helping Dash, her younger brother who had the power of super speed, with his homework while her other brother, a baby by the name of Jack-Jack, who had a myriad of powers, a rare trait, played with his food.

"So, you guys won't threaten him or anything, right mom?" Violet asked, not wanting a repeat of last time. Her mother, Helen Parr, also known as Elastigirl in her superhero persona, just shook her head at that.

"Relax, Violet. We're not going to do that." Helen said as she cooked. "He seems like a good person and a good boyfriend. Even Bob approves of him." Hearing the conversation, Bob, aka Mr. Incredible, gave a nod of agreement before going back to work with Dash, who snickered as he remembered that day. Giving her little brother a glare for that, she looked back at her mom.

"Okay good." Violet said. "I just want this to go well. He means a lot to me, mom." Shaking her head a bit at that, Helen put the food in the stove before looking at her daughter.

"Don't worry about us, sweetie." Helen said, giving her daughter a small smile. "It'll go well, I promise." Smiling gratefully, Violet was about to say thank you when the door bell rang. Believing it was Tony, Violet went to the door. Opening it, she saw it was indeed Tony, patiently waiting for her. His kind brown eyes giving her reassurance that this will all go well.

"Hey Violet." Tony said with a smile. "Sorry, if I'm a bit early. My parents decided to close early today. Something about my dad having to do something."

"Its okay." Violet said with a smile, letting him in. "Dinner is almost ready. We can talk with my parents while its cooking." Tony nodded in agreement.

"Sure. The purpose of this dinner is to meet your parents and get their approval. So, might as well do it now." With that, the two went to the living room and started with Bob, who had finished with Dash and his homework.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Parr." Tony said, bringing out his hand, which Bob took and shook with respect.

"Same to you." Bob said with a small smile, liking the boy's attitude so far. "I trust that you're taking care of my daughter well."

"Of course. She's pretty cool." Tony said. Bob nodded at that, satisfied. "I hope that I could gain your approval. As well as your wife's." Bob just chuckled a bit at that.

"Don't worry. We already have a good opinion on you. I'm sure you won't ruin it." Relief filled Tony when he heard that.

"I won't let you down sir." Bob nodded again and excused himself to help Helen with the food. Once they were alone, he spoke to his wife.

"He's a nice boy. Violet chose well." Helen let out a snort upon hearing that.

"Oh? Finally decided to approve of him?" Helen teased as she brought out the food. "Last I checked, you were thinking of way to intimidate him and hurt him if he ever hurt Violet." Bob just smirked at this, knowing that she was telling the truth.

"Oh come on." Bob said, playing along. "Every parent would do that. You even helped brainstorm some of them." Shaking her head at that, she continued.

"Yeah, but I stopped after the third date. You only stopped two days ago." She then began filling the plates up with food. "Hope he likes chicken breast with rice."

"Don't worry honey, I'm sure he'll find it appetizing." Bob then began to carry the plates of food to the dinner table. Once that was all done, he called everyone to the dinner table. Once everyone was at the table and began eating, Bob and Helen began to speak to Tony.

"So, what do you think of the food Tony?" Helen asked. Tony just sampled her food again before giving his verdict.

"Its great, Miss Parr. About as good as my own mothers'." Tony said. Helen just smiled at this, happy that he liked her cooking.

"Come now, Tony. You didn't need to say that I'm as good as your mothers."

"Oh no, miss Parr. My mom wouldn't be offended. In fact, she admitted she never cooked until she had me. If you ask me, you could give her some pointers." Helen, surprised at this a bit, just smiled.

"Well, I'll be more than happy to meet her someday." Tony just chuckled at that.

"About that, Miss Parr. One of the reasons I came is to invite you over to the Happy Platter next week this Sunday. Your entire family in fact." Everyone stopped eating and looked at Tony. Seeing that he had their attention, he explained.

"You see, my parents decided it was time that we all get to know each other better. So, they asked me to extend an invite to you guys for a family dinner at the Happy Platter next Saturday. Is that fine?" Bob and Helen just looked at each other and shrugged. They didn't have much to do that day. Plus, it'll be nice to get to know their potentially future-in-laws.

"Why not?" Said Bob with a smile. "We'd love to come and attend. It'll be nice to see your parents." Tony just smiled at that, pleased, before saying they'll be happy to hear that. With that, everyone resumed eating their food. Once they finished up, Tony spent some time with Violet, going over some homework that they needed to finish for a class they both held.

"You sure?" Asked Violet as she read his report. It was a paper about the D-Day landing. "This seems a little too detailed. Not that there's anything wrong with that." Tony just smiled as he scratched his head.

"I'll admit, my granddad helped with this a bit. He participated in it, after all." Violet just nodded in understanding upon hearing that.

"Well, that gives you an unfair advantage. You okay if I take a couple of notes? I won't copy or anything." Tony just shook his head.

"I got no problem with it. Its just some pointers after all. Besides, you're a smart girl. You'll figure out a way." Nodding gratefully, Violet took some notes for her own paper. Once she was done, the two decided to look out the window of the house that the Parrs are staying in. It was the same house that Winston Deavor had given them during their time working with them. After the whole incident with his sister, Winston gave them the house as an apology as well as covering costs to repair the house after the scuffle with the mind-controlled heroes. They still kept in contact with him, albeit limited, and the man still seemed guilty about what happened, though they insisted that it wasn't his fault, but his sisters'. Nowadays, aside from running his company and helping heroes whenever he can, Winston keeps an eye on his sister, making sure she serves her full time and can't bribe anyone for an early release.

"Quite a beautiful house, you got here." Commented Tony as they watched the moon in its full glory. Violet just nodded as she put her head on his shoulder. "But not as beautiful as you." Violet just rolled her eyes at that.

"Cheesy lines like that won't work on me, Tony." Tony just chuckled at that.

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to say it." The two starred at the moon for a few more minutes before Tony decided that he needed to leave. "Well, I got to go. Don't want my mom to get worried now." With that, Violet escorted her boyfriend to the door with the rest of her families waiting there. After saying his good byes, Tony put a kiss on Violet's cheek before leaving. With him out of the way, Bob let out a sigh.

"He's a good boy." Said Bob as he looked at his daughter, proudly. "You picked a good one, Violet. I hope you both get married and live a good life." Violet just blushed before nodding her head. Helen then spoke to her.

"You ready to meet his parents, Violet?" Asked Helen. Violet just nodded.

"It couldn't be hard, right?" Asked Violet with a smile. "It's just two parents. What could go wrong?"

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Tony's house**

* * *

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Yelled Tony as he closed the door to his home. "Sorry that it took so long. I wanted to spend more time with Violet." After he put his jacket on a hook near the door, he walked over to the living room, where he spotted his mother reading an old book, carefully maintained to keep some semblance of readability. Once he entered the living room, his mother looked up at him.

If Tony wasn't so used to seeing her, he would have been taken aback by his mother's beauty. It seemed age hadn't taken away from it at all. She still looked the same as when she had him. Her pale skin, along with her dark brown eyes, gave her an allure of mystery that not a lot of women Tony knew can pull off. Her short black hair was neatly combed and framed her face, ending just below her shoulders on one side and above on the other. All that, combined with a slender figure that most ladies will kill for, made a lot of people scratching their heads on how such a beautiful woman was a mother to a middle schooler, especially since she looked to be in her twenties still. Tony got those questions a lot at school, along with questions on how she was his mother since they look nothing alike. He usually just shrugged and answered as best he could. To be honest, he was wondering how his mother was so beautiful as well.

"**Maybe she's a super." **Thought Tony as his mother spoke.

"Its alright, Tony." Said his mother as she put her book away and placed her hands on her lap. "Its good for you to spend time with your girlfriend. She might be your future wife, you know." Tony just blushed at that. Though he wasn't against the idea of being Violet's husband.

"Yeah. She isn't like the other girls, mom." Said Tony as he sat on a chair next to the one his mom was using. "She's passionate, caring, and a genuine nice person. I feel like she loves me for who I am, not what I have." His mom nodded at that.

"I have a feeling that is true. And that's a good thing." Said his mom with a small smile. "I'd rather not have a talk with her parents, like the last few." Tony just chuckled nervously when he heard that along with the slight threating tone she used when she said it. "Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing her and her family next Saturday." Tony smiled at that.

"That's great, mom. Is dad going to be there?" His mother just pursed her lips at that, slightly hesitant on answering, before speaking.

"He'll try and be there." Tony, upon hearing that, sighed, slightly disappointed at the answer. Trying to cheer her son up, his mother promised to speak to his father about it. "I'll talk to him later tonight. It won't be much, but I'll try and make him go that day."

"Thanks mom." Said Tony. "I just wanted the Parrs to know both of you at the same time. Your nice people and they should know it." His mother smiled at that.

"They will." She said before getting up. "Alright, time to do your homework, young man. After that, you have sometime to do whatever you're comfortable with." Tony just smiled before leaving for his room. Once he was out of her sights, his mother sighed before going over to her and her husband's room. After she closed the door, she went to her bed and looked underneath.

"**I need to speak to that man now.**"Thought Tony's mother before she found what she was looking for, an orb the shape of an eye that was the color of ashes. Slightly squeezing it, she was surrounded by a circle of light and she disappeared.

* * *

**Somewhere**

* * *

In a dark, secluded part of a forest, a man was fighting two other men. But these combatants seemed out of place. For one, they all wore knight armor that was nothing like those from the history books. Two combatants had strange, but very intimidating, armor that had a skeletal design for the chest and legs. The mask they wore was in the shape of a human skull, permanently in a sneer, as if the wearer was looking down at their opponent, thinking them weak. The last one wore a more traditional looking set of armor yet was very different. For one, the all the metal plating was segmented and had golden lining and marking all over in it in a delicate fashion. It was as if the person who designed this armor was going for looks as well as functionality. Lastly the armor came with a blood red cape that had a golden dragon on it.

Another thing was that, in an age of guns, only one was using a gun while the others were just using swords, though it should be noted that a sword was strapped on the back of the one using a gun along with a shield. The last thing of note was that the ones without guns were zombie-like, their faces were dehydrated and slightly decomposed. Despite that, they were still capable swordsmen as they swung their swords with skills that only experience and training can give, growling as they did so. The third combatant was stoic as he dodges a swing from one before aiming his shotgun at its face. Pulling the trigger, the shotgun round blasted a hole through its face. The body then fell due to the force of the shot. As the gun-wielding knight was about to face his other opponent, the zombie-like combatant kicked him in the chest, sending him flying to a tree. Sensing his foe was weak, the being charged in, sword in the air. Recovering from the attack, the other knight was about to block the strike when his foe was hit with a black fireball, knocking him away. The skull faced knight growled in anger and was about to get up when it was hit with another fireball. Before he could recover from the 2nd attack, he was hit once again but this time by a dark cloud of bugs, which began to chew and nibble his flesh from chinks of his armor. Yet despite that, it got up and looked for its attack, seeing that it was Tony's mother, who was preparing to throw another black fireball at him. Hissing at her, it ran up to her and was about to make a swing at her when he was stabbed through the side of his stomach with a sword that was followed up with several pistol rounds fired through his throat. Letting out a dying hiss, the knight went limp and fell to the ground. Seeing the danger gone, the last remaining knight looked at Tony's mother.

"Karla, shouldn't you be at home." Said the knight, his voice strained from fighting his opponents. The woman just rolled her eyes at that.

"None of that, dear, I came because I need to speak to you about our son." Said Karla. Hearing that, the knight looked at his wife, concern filling him as he wondered what she wanted to speak about regarding their son. Seeing that she had his attention, the woman spoke again. "Its regarding our dinner meeting with his girlfriend's family. Remember that?" Once he nodded, she continued. "Well, he would be sorely disappointed if you weren't there to meet with her parents as well as meeting her for the first time. So, can you make an effort to be there?" The knight just sighed at that, knowing that Karla wanted to make Tony happy and so did he.

"I want to be a hundred percent sure that I'll be there, Karla, but these dark wraiths." The knight began to examine the dead bodies. "They've been more active as of late. Something is provoking them to come out from whatever abyss that they've made a home out of. And they've been only coming out here, according to my contacts. I need to figure it out." Karla sighed upon hearing that.

"Can't you get Eygon or Sirris to investigate this? They're more than capable of figuring it out themselves." The knight just shook his head.

"Eygon is too busy taking care of Irina to do so and Sirris has her hands full with dealing with the mound makers. And both Anri and Siegward are busy with Rosaria's fingers to come here. So, I'm on my own. I can't ask anyone to come here. ***Sighs*** I'm sorry, Karla, but I might not be able to attend that dinner night." Upon hearing that, Karla let out a sight. Much as she wanted to berate her husband and throw a black fire orb at him, she knew the importance of his other job and, as much as she wanted to deny it as well, it was far more important than a dinner night with their future in laws.

"Just…make an effort to be there. He'll be disappointed that you're not there. And so will the others." The knight just nodded his head.

"I'll try." Upon finishing his examination, the man began to limp to his wife. "Take us back home. Hopefully Tony won't notice me before I go to the bonfire." Upon examining her husband, she saw that he was bleeding from his midsection and his right leg. Concerned, she went over and helped support him, bringing his right arm over her neck.

"There were more, weren't there?" The knight simply nodded before bringing out a dull green flask.

"Had to use all my estus just to stay alive. As I said, the Dark wraiths are getting more and more active. I'm not sure if I can stop them all before, they reach a populated area. And everyone else is too busy with other problems." Karla just closed her eyes at that.

"Perhaps its time to go and ask the governments and supers to help. Our numbers were never great and our ranks are slowly dwindling as more go hollow. We can't keep the secret anymore." The knight just nodded his head in agreement.

"I'll tell Yorshka as soon as I can. Hopefully she'll listen." Karla sighed at that.

"That stubborn half-breed better listen this time, Ashen one, or else she'll face an unhappy witch." With that, Karla brought out a bone and crushed it. Soon, they disappeared in a gust of wind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"Ah crap! It's Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl." Yelled a thug as he saw the two superheroes crashing through the door of the bank he and his gang were robbing. After knocking out two thugs, the two superheroes looked at the remaining thugs.

"Alright." Said Bob with a neutral stare, silently enjoying the looks of fear the thugs gave him and his wife as they starred down at them. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is the boring way for me, but it'll leave you all uninjured and safe from further harm. And I'll leave you all to guess what'll happen if you choose the hard way." Some of the thugs just looked each other, uneasy at fighting the two veteran superheroes. Before any could make a decision, the leader pointed his gun at them and opened fire.

The heroes, not really surprised, just took cover. Elastigirl, seeing a chair a few feet away from her, stretched her arms to grab it and then threw it at the leader. The chair hit him so hard that it caused him to fly towards a wall and hit it with enough force that it knocked him unconscious. The other gang members, upon seeing their down boss, either surrendered or charged at them to avenge him. Taking over, Mr. Incredible charged at the three goons coming after him. He punched one to a wall, knocking him out and some of teeth, before garbing another and throwing him to the last guy, sending them both to the ground. Before the two could do anything, Mr. Incredible grabbed their heads and banged them against each other, knocking the thugs out. Now more convinced that it was a bad idea to fight the supers, the remaining thugs surrendered. Soon, the police showed up and arrested the gang. As they watched this happen, Bob looked at Helen.

"Another crime stopped, and we got enough time for make dinner for the kids." Said Bob. Helen just nodded as she wondered about their future dinner meetup with Tony's parents. It was in two days and she was getting more and more worried as the date got closer.

"Yeah, Bob. Are you nervous about meeting Tony's parents?" Asked Helen. Bob just looked at his wife, who motioned him to follow her in their car, the Incredibile. Once in the car, she spoke more to Bob, removing her mask as she did so. "I mean, that dinner will be an important thing, for all of us. If Tony and Violet decide to marry in the future, or in the very least have plans to, that dinner date may affect those plans."

"Why is that?" Asked Bob, not getting what Helen is worried about. Helen just sighed before explaining.

"Imagine this. What will we do once we find that Tony's parents are, say, former criminals or just plain rude people?" Bob just thought about it, wondering what to say, before giving his answer.

"Well, I'd forbid Violet from going out with Tony again. I mean, if they're former criminals, they'll really hate supers and that includes Violet. They'll probably forbid Tony from seeing her or us." Helen just nodded before speaking.

"Moving on. What if, instead of that, we act completely obnoxious or rude during that dinner meet-up? Will Tony's parents want their boy to be around with people like that, even if Violet is a nice girl?" Bob just shook his head, now seeing what she's going at. "I'm just worried Bob. If it goes wrong, Violet will be crushed. She really likes Tony, Bob, and I feel like they're made for each other." Bob just held his wife.

"Relax, honey. If anything goes bad at that day, it won't be because of us. Besides, from what I'd seen from Tony, his parents must be okay people if they raised a son like that." Helen just nodded. Maybe her husband was right. She was probably just overthinking things.

"Maybe you're right. I just can't stop worrying." Placing a head on her shoulder, Bob looked at her in sympathy

"Its okay to worry, honey. I mean it's a dinner with our potentially future-in-laws after all. But just to be safe, I'll talk with Dash. Tell him to behave while we're at the Happy Platter." Helen nodded at that, agreeing with her husband. Just as they're about to take off, Helen had an idea.

"Hey, why don't we just go and meet with them in secret." Said Helen. Upon hearing that, Bob stopped the car. Fortunately, they weren't in the road or anything. Putting the car in autopilot and instructing it to go home, Bob looked at Helen.

"Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of the dinner meet-up? I mean, the purpose of that is to meet them for the first time and get to know each other then. Meeting earlier will just defeat the purpose of that."

"I know that, but I'm not saying spend an entire day with them. Just a little visit. See how they run their business and how they treat their employees." Bob just rose an eyebrow at that.

"You mean spy on them?" Deadpanned Bob as he looked at his wife, who smiled sheepishly.

"Come on, we've done it before. And it won't hurt anyone." Bob just rubbed his neck at that. Its kind of felt wrong to do so, but he honestly was anxious to see what Tony's parents were like and he was getting impatient, waiting for the day that they can go to the Happy Platter to meet them in person. The wait was killing him. Sighing to himself, he held the bridge of his nose before speaking.

"I guess a short stake-out won't hurt anybody." Helen just nodded in agreement, thanking Bob for agreeing with her. "We'll do it thirty minutes before the Happy Platter closes. That should give us enough time to do patrols as well as cook dinner for the kids."

"Good call. I can't wait for this." Said Helen as she looked at the road. Bob, meanwhile, was thinking of what Violet was doing right now. School should be over soon, and she'll be back in half an hour.

* * *

**Violet's school**

**Half an hour later**

* * *

As Violet as waiting for the final class for the day end, she looked at Tony, who was taking notes of what the teacher was saying. Smiling a bit, Violet watched as Tony scratched the base of his brown hair as he tried to decipher what the teacher was saying. He'd always did this whenever a teacher said something confusing and it was something that Violet found cute. Probably one of the many reasons she had a crush on the boy when she first laid her eyes on him. A few minutes later, class ended, and everyone was going out and ready to leave for home.

As Violet was at her locker, packing her things, she saw Tony giving her a wave, waiting for her. Waving him back, once she packed her things, she went up to Tony and the two left for home.

"Did you understand what the teacher was saying during those last few minutes?" Asked Tony as they got on the bus. Violet just shrugged as the bus took off. The ride on the bus was uneventful, with nothing of note happening. When it was time to drop Tony off, the boy gave a kiss good bye to Violet, promising to call her later, before leaving. As she watched her boyfriend leave, Violet wondered on what to talk about with him when he called. By the time the bus dropped her off and she opened the door, she already had seven topics to pick from. Upon arriving at the coach, she was immediately caught the sight of Edna playing with Jak-Jak, actually smiling to herself. When Edna learned of Jak-Jak abilities, she volunteered to baby-sit him whenever Bob and Helen were out doing hero stuff and while she and Dash were in school. And despite her misgivings, Edna was, surprisingly, a good babysitter. Much better than they're previous one. The fact that Edna enjoyed Jak-Jak and his behavior was really a plus as that meant she won't do anything bad to him when he does something damaging. Upon seeing Violet, Edna coughed and looked at Violet.

"Your little brother is quite a handful." Said Edna, going back to her business mode, though she didn't hide her joy with Jak-Jak. "Now that you're here, my time is up. I'll be here tomorrow at around 7. Good day." She then began to leave. Just before she opened the door, however, Edna looked at Violet. "Oh, by the way. Avoid using the upstairs bathroom. The boy made quite a mess in there." Before Violet could comment on that, Edna left in a hurry. Sighing to herself, Violet picked up Jak-Jak who began to munch on her hair. Giggling at her, more tolerable, brother, she put him in his baby chair and began to take out her stuff. Upon getting out her homework, she began to work on it, finishing it all in record time. After finishing it all, Violet began to think of her boyfriend Tony and what he was doing right now.

"**Probably helping his parents with their business or doing his homework."** Thought Violet with admiration as she thought of her boyfriend helping out his parent's business to the best of his ability. That's what she liked about Tony, among other things. Despite his popularity, the boy didn't let it go through his head. He genuinely cared and liked people, despite what their status in school is. He had friends that were both popular and unpopular, something that earned him the respect and hatred of some of the other popular kids. He didn't bully people, he stood up for people when they're bullied, and he didn't think twice of doing something unpopular if he felt like it was the right thing to do. That was among the things, along with his good looks she supposed, why she had a crush on him in the first place. He was popular, but also quite modest and considerate. And when she began dating him, she was happy that it all wasn't a farce, that he was as good willed as his public face was. And she couldn't wait to meet his parents, who were likely just as good as he was. She just hoped she left a good first impression for them, lest she be embarrassed for the rest of her life over it. She also hoped her family didn't do anything embarrassing as well, particularly Dash. Looking over at a clock, she frowned when she saw that it was four-thirty.

"**That's weird. Mom and dad are usually here by now. Wonder what's keeping them?"** Chalking it up to hero duty, she shrugged and went to play with Jak-Jak, who was fighting over a raccoon for some reason.

* * *

**Happy Platter**

* * *

Karla was humming to herself as she cooked along with her other chefs. Business was booming lately. People have been coming all day for a taste of the Happy Platter's food, to the point that there was a line outside. She didn't know why, usually they only got a fourth of these people on a good day during the spring season, though she suspected it was her secret way of doing things. After placing the finishing touches on a steak meal, she gave it to a waiter, who rushed to get it to a customer. Sighing to herself, she looked at her employees, seeing that, despite them being a bit tired from doing all this cooking, they were performing admirably. Seeing on struggling a bit, she went over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Take a break, David. You've earned it." Said Karla. The employee just looked at her in shock.

"But ma'am, there's still so much to do and you need all the cooks you can get." Karla just smiled at him before speaking.

"I know, but I rather have workers that aren't making simple mistakes." She then pointed to the burger he made. When he looked, the man cursed. The meat had a bit of red in it still.

"I'm so sorry ma'am. I'll try to make another one quick." Before he could, Karla brought her hand over his.

"You're not. You need to take a small break. I can't afford these simple mistakes, David. I'll take over your things. Don't worry, I can handle it." Still a bit unsure, the man looked at Karla, who simply smiled. Sighing to himself, the man agreed and apologized to her, which she rebuffed, saying that he's human and that he needed a break. Once he was gone and making sure that no one was looking, she hovered her hand over the meat patty and conjured a small fireball over it. After lightly tossing it over the patty, she watched as the fireball did its work and rid the patty of its redness. Checking it for any other small problems, Karla placed the top bun over the burger and handed it out to a waiting waiter. With that done, Karla was about to do another order when another of her employees, a girl named Clair, walked up to her.

"Um, ma'am, there's a couple of people asking for you personally. They said that they wanted to speak to you about your family and some dinner you have planned." Raising an eyebrow, she walked out of the kitchen to see Helen and Bob Parr, the parents of the girl that her boy was dating, now in their civilian personas. Sighing to herself, she walked over to them, hoping that whatever they required will be quick. She needed to help lessen the work burden on her employees. When she was two feet away from them, Helen spoke.

"Hello, Mrs. Ryder." Said Helen with a smile. "I know that this isn't the best of times to speak with you, but can we have a few minutes of your time. Its about the dinner we had planned." Raising an eyebrow again, she motioned them to a corner away from the crowded restaurant. When they made it, Karla spoke up.

"Please do make it quick, I need to go help my cooks with all the orders. I'd just forced one to take a break, lest he make a major mistake, so they're a bit understaffed at the moment." Helen nodded her head.

"Of course, Mrs. Ryder. I'm so sorry about this. If we've known that it would be this busy, we would have picked another day to meet with you." Karla sighed at that, sensing the sincerity in Mrs. Parr's voice.

"There's no need to apologize. To be honest, I'm shocked that I have this many people coming over to have a bite to eat. Its not unwelcome, but I'm concerned for my employees and the strain it'll have over them." Helen and Bob nodded in agreement. Having this many people can't be good for the cooks. Still, they couldn't help but feel a bit happy at Karla's concern. Its clear to them that the woman cared about her employees and wanted what's best for her business and her employees. Sighing, she spoke up. "Anyway, what's this about? The dinner is this Sunday, so why are you here?"

"Well, we wanted to meet up with you in secret. Get a good feeling about you and her husband?" Karla nodded upon hearing that.

"Ah, I see. I completely understand, Mrs. Parr. So, I suppose you're wondering where my husband is?" Upon seeing them nod, she continued. "Well, I'm afraid he's not in today. Though my husband is the co-owner of this establishment, he has other duties that require his full attention. I'm sorry to tell you but you will rarely find him here with the rest of us." The two nodded upon hearing that.

"We understand, Mrs. Ryder. But from what we've seen so far, we can tell that Tony has a good mother and probably a good father as well." Karla nodded at that, though she had a sad glint in her eyes.

"Yes, he does. He has a better father than a mother." Upon hearing that, the two Parrs looked at her in surprise.

"You don't need to sell yourself short, ma'am." Said Bob. "You're a great boss and a great parent, if what we've seen from Tony is any proof." Karla just snorted at that.

"Believe me, Mr. Parr, all the good things that you see in Tony came from his father. He didn't get anything positive from my side. The best I can do for him is to ensure that he meets a good girl and live happily with her and to steer him from any bad practices." The Parrs just looked at her in pity at that.

"Mrs. Ryder, you shouldn't think so low of yourself." Said Helen, touching Karla's shoulder at that, something that Karla allowed. "Tony clearly loves you and he's a good boy. Even if you say your husband did most of the work, you must have helped out when he was growing up. He wouldn't say anything positive about you if that wasn't the case." Karla sighed at that.

"You're a kind woman to say such things, Mrs. Parr, and you have my thanks for saying so." She then looked at the growing crowd. "I would love to continue this conversation, but I have too many customers right now and too few workers to keep them all happy. So, if I may, I need to leave you two alone." Knowing that she's busy, the two said goodbye and left, but not before telling her that they'll be ready for dinner Sunday. Nodding her head, Karla went back into the kitchen to help ease the burden on her workers.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Unknown**

* * *

The Ashen one sighed as he walked out of a door. After closing the door, he held his helmeted head.

"Well, I tried my best." Said the Ashen one. "Karla isn't going to like her answer." Suddenly praying for his boss's life, he was about to walk away when he heard the bellow of laughter.

"***Chuckles*** I take it that you've failed to get a vacation, eh, Ashen one?" Asked a fellow man in armor as he walked up to the Ashen one, voice full of sarcasm. Though he wore knight armor like the Ashen one, this man's armor was radically different than the Ashen ones'. In that it was built for intimidation with its thick shoulder pauldrons and the helmet that was shaped like a gargoyle. On the man's back was a gigantic mace, nearly twice as tall as the man, yet the man showed no discomfort in having it on his back. As the man approached the Ashen one, the man sighed.

"I tried to get her to get someone to take my place and to reveal us to the world, but she wouldn't have any of it." The man chuckled at that.

"Gods. They always think that they know what is best, even when another solution is right up there in their face." The man then looked at the Ashen one, crossing his arms. "I take it you have something important to do."

"My son. His girlfriend's family is having dinner with us this Sunday and I want to be there for his own sake." The man grew silent upon hearing that. "And I can't overburden you or Sirris on my duties, Eygon. Both of you have your hands full with something as important." The man, now known as Eygon, responded.

"I'm not really overburdened. I think Irina is doing well enough right now and I think she doesn't need me there anymore until the baby comes." Said Eygon, his sarcastic tone gone, replaced with a tone of sincerity. "If you want, I can take your duties for a while and have Irina visit you guys until this dinner of yours is over." The Ashen one looked over at Eygon.

"You would do that for me?" Asked the Ashen one. Eygon just waved his hand.

"No, I just need someone to take the burden of taking care of that woman. Her mood swings are overbearing, even for me, so I decided to be cruel and have your family bear the rest of her mood swings." The Ashen one chuckled at that. "But in all seriousness, I can deal with a couple of wraiths. They aren't as powerful as they used to be."

"Don't underestimate them, Eygon." Said the Ashen one seriously. "Something has been empowering them as of late." Eygon, however, just scoffed.

"I can deal with it. I wouldn't be a knight of Carim if I let something more powerful than I to scare me. Its our duties as knights to face things head on and without fear." Nodding his head in agreement, the Ashen one sighed.

"Alright, but Irina has to be in my home. That shouldn't be a problem right?" Eygon scoffed.

"Problem? She'll be ecstatic to see your brat and Karla again. She kept complaining to me that we should visit. Well here's her visit. You'll be complaining to me later on when she arrives. That woman won't shut up. Her pregnancy has made her bold." The Ashen One chuckled at that.

"Like I don't know it." Said the Ashen one, remembering Karla's own pregnancy.

"Anyway, just give me what you have on these wraiths and I'll investigate with you." Nodding his head, the two ventured to a café to discuss the situation.

* * *

**Unknown location**

* * *

In an abandoned church, a woman was overlooking a statue of a woman with a sword.

"Are you certain?" Asked the woman as she continued to examine the statue. A man behind her, dressed in white and had a gold mask, nodded.

"Yes, mistress. The wraiths we send were defeated by the one called the Ashen one." Said the man. Upon hearing that name, the woman growled.

"Send more wraiths at him. He will pay for what he was done to us." Said the woman. The man nodded before leaving. Once he was gone, the woman looked at the statue.

"**He will pay for what he did to the church, sister. And he will pay for what he did to you and Elfriede."** Thought the woman as she remembered her sisters.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Thekiller7- Eh, I enjoyed the 2****nd**** one enough that I want a sequel (Although I hope they do better in the villain department.).**

**Erebs- Oh that dinner is not going go well. More due to the Ashen one's past than anything else.**

* * *

**Ryder home**

* * *

"You can't be serious?" Asked Karla, glaring at her husband, who sighed.

"Yorshka is adamant of keeping our existence a secret." Said the Ashen one. "She sees no reason to reveal ourselves to the rest of the world. And until she sees that evidence that we need to, she's not budging." Glaring at her husband, Karla got up from her seat on the coach.

"If that woman refuses to see reason, then I'll force her to see reason." Said Karla. She then conjured a black fireball before walking over to the fireplace. Before she could, however, the Ashen one stopped her. "Step aside. That woman clearly needs to be forced to see reason. Preferably with a fireball to the face."

"Karla, I know you want to make Tony happy, I do too, but attacking our leader is not the way to do so." Said the Ashen one, going over and holding his wife. He then began to trace his fingers down her spine in an effort to calm her. Throughout his whole time with her as his wife, he learned that she loved it when he traced her spine. He didn't know why, but it always calmed her down when she was angry over something. At first, she tried to resist it, but eventually, she began to moan and give in, wrapping herself around the Ashen One's chest.

"Cheater." Said Karla as she gave into the pleasure.

"Your fault for exposing this to me." Said the Ashen one as he continued to trace her spine. He continued to trace her spine until he was sure that she calmed down. Once she did, he let go and looked at Karla. "Now, if you're done thinking that you need to burn our leader to a crisp, I have some good news. Eygon has offered to take my job until this dinner date is over." Upon hearing that, Karla widened her eyes in surprise.

"Really?" Asked Karla. "But I thought that he was busy in taking care of that foolish cleric to do his job."

"Well, he was, but he lumped her on us, so we have to take care of her during her final weeks of pregnancy." Karla rolled her eyes at that. She should have known there was a catch.

"Oh joy." Said Karla sarcastically. "And I take it that the Firekeeper will be here as well?" Upon seeing her husband nod, she glared at him. "You best be faithful to me or else you're going to get a fireball to your genitals." Upon hearing that, the Ashen One groaned.

"I've been with you for two decades. And never once did I find a woman to be far more beautiful than you."

"You found the Firekeeper beautiful before." Pointed out Karla.

"That was before I met you." Sighing, the Ashen one lifted his hand to stop his wife. "Look, let's just drop this and just plan the dinner. What do you think we should offer? I think steak for the men and some spaghetti or pasta for the women." Karla hummed as she thought of what to offer to the Parrs.

"We should ask them. You know, they arrived in the Happy Platter earlier today. They wanted to get a good feeling of us. To see if we're good parents." Upon hearing that, the Ashen one looked at Karla.

"Well, how did it go?" Asked the Ashen one, worried. Karla merely waved her hand.

"It went well. They liked the fact that I was cared about my employee's wellbeing and tried to cheer me up when I told them that you were mostly the reason that Tony is what he is today." The Ashen one sighed at that. He should have expected that from his wife. She always downplayed her role in the development of their son.

"Karla, Tony is what he is today because of the both of us." Said the Ashen one, looking at his wife. He then placed a hand on her cheek. "Stop downplaying your role in his life. He wouldn't be what he is without you being there with me." Sighing, Karla shook her head at that.

"Stop trying to make me feel better, Ashen one. I have nothing to offer our son, other than my magic and I refuse to teach him the dark arts." Sighing again, the Ashen one, hugged his wife, comforting her.

"Let's just move on and figure out the dinner date. Where's Tony?" Asked the Ashen one.

"On another date with his girlfriend. She's a keeper." Said Karla with a smile, happy that her son found a beautiful girl to settle down him.

"Good." Said the Ashen one. "I hope to see her when this dinner meetup happens. I have a good feeling on this one."

"As do I." Said Karla. With that, the two ventured to their room to discuss the dinner meet up further.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

* * *

"So, you like horror?" Asked Tony as he and Violet watched a sci-fi movie together. They would have went with a romantic movie, but that would have been cheesy, so they went with a comedy one instead.

"Well depends on how gory the horror movie is." Said Violet as she sipped on her tea. "If its two gory, then no way am I watching that." Tony nodded his head in agreement as the two went back to watching the movie.

As they watched, Tony and Violet couldn't help but worry about the dinner date that was several days from now. Though they were sure that their family wouldn't ruin it, except Dash, they still couldn't help but worry about it.

What if their parents found something about each other that they hated and forbid them from dating further, hating each other too much to allow them to be in-laws? What if some thug decides to commit a crime just before the dinner, thus forcing the Parrs' to fight them and skip the dinner, something that could annoy Tony's parents and forbid Tony from seeing Violet as they would think that the Parrs' are irresponsible? What if Tony's father doesn't come and leaving Tony and his mother alone to deal with the Parrs?

There were just so many things that could go wrong that it worried to two a great deal. So much so that Violet began to munch on the contents of her back of popcorn just to calm down while Tony began to rapidly move his right knee up and down in an effort to calm down as well.

After a few minutes, the two spotted the each other doing this actions, something that caused them to smile.

"Nervous about something?" Asked Violet as she looked at Tony's knees, which stopped moving after Tony placed a hand on both of them.

"Yeah." Said Tony with a nervous smile. "I'm worried about the dinner in two days. Call me being paranoid, but I'm worried that our parents won't like each other and forbid us from dating." Violet couldn't help but smile at that. She could understand such concerns. Although she wanted to have faith in her parents and siblings, there was always the chance that something horrible will happen during that dinner.

"Same." Said Violet as she put a hand on one of Tony's hands. "But, I also have faith that our parents will like each other. Call it a woman's intuition." Tony just laughed at that.

"Wish I had that. It might help with how nervous I am with the dinner." Violet laughed a bit at that.

"Don't worry. Just have faith, Tony." Said Violet. "It'll go well, I promise. If it'll help, I'll make my parent's promise not to cause a fuse. That is, if you'll do the same." Tony smiled, finding those terms acceptable. The two then resumed to watch the movie, their concerns subsided for now.

Unfortunately for them, someone was watching them. Someone with a grudge against Tony's family.

"Ma'am, we have them in sight. Shall we eliminate them?" Asked a man in a trench coat, sitting in the back of the theater with a few others, all of whom don't respond to his words.

"No. Keep monitoring them. I want to ruin the entire family in one fell swoop." Said a woman before ending the call.

* * *

**Few hours later**

**Ryder residence**

* * *

"It's awful!" Yelled a woman with blond hair and wearing a nun-like uniform that was completely white. Her round belly indicating that she was pregnant. "How could Eygon leave me here?! In these dreadful conditions?!"

Karla, who was in the same room, the living room specifically, as the blond woman, couldn't help but twitch at that.

"Are you insulting my ability to clean, Irina?" Asked Karla, keeping her tone as neutral as possible. Upon hearing that, the woman named Irina turned around and smiled at Karla.

"Of course not, Karla." Said Irina, her tone completely different to the distressed one she had just a minute ago. "It's just that Eygon had the brilliant idea of leaving me alone in this home without a 2nd spare of my favorite clothes. Not to mention that I don't have some of my favorite books to read."

"You can't read." Said Karla, rolling her eyes. "Your blind as a bat." It was true, Irina's eyes were a milky white, indicating that she was blind.

"Not those types of books, Karla." Chided Irina. "I mean the books specifically designed for me. The one's where I can feel the lumps and hills in the pages. You wouldn't have any miracle books by any chance? Maybe a fairy tale?" Karla glared at Irina.

"You know very well, that I don't have any of those blasted miracles in my possession. And I donated the fairy tale books from Tony's time as a child to an orphanage a long time ago. So, you'll just have to speak to me, my husband, or Tony." Irina pouted at that.

"Fine, perhaps I should have a private talk with your husband, convince him to bring me one of my miracles books." Upon hearing that, Karla's eyes flashed dangerously, but she refrained from remarking back at Irina, knowing that, in her current state, the miracle user will tell her that's she being childish for thinking that her husband will ever be unfaithful to her.

Instead, she just said goodbye to Irina, and went to the kitchen, where she could cook dinner. Upon entering, she sighed as she wondered if this dinner was worth having Irina around.

Not that Karla didn't like the miracle user, far from it. Despite her hostile nature against those that use miracles or devout themselves to religion, she loved Irina, who helped her during her relationship with the Ashen one, back when they were just lovers and not husband and wife.

She even, along with other close friends of the Ashen one, helped raise Tony as he grew up. Giving him toys, playing with him, and being a good influence on him. Far better than what she could give.

As if to demonstrate, she raised her palm and created a black fireball in her hand. Her affinity for the Dark had caused the world to shun her. Even her own parents despised her when they learned her attraction and natural talent with the Dark, especially her father when she used her dark powers against her mother accidently. As a result, she stayed away from society, too in tune with her affinity with the Dark to be a productive member of any society. For a long time, from her teenage to adult life, she thought she would never be loved and be doomed to die unloved.

But then the Ashen one came and introduced her to a group of people that became her friends and, dare she say it, family. And then, she fell for the Ashen one, becoming his wife and bearing his child.

Although she loved her child, she didn't want him to bare the powers of the Dark, remembering how much pain it caused her. She was ecstatic when it was discovered he didn't have any natural affinity for the Dark as it meant he can blend with the normal people in the world without any difficulties.

If he had her powers, it would have made their attempt to have a normal life much more difficult. The powers of the Dark were best to be done by adults, not children, something Karla can attest to.

Sighing, Karla readied her kitchen for cooking. Tony and the Ashen should be here soon.

* * *

**Night**

**Jewelry store**

* * *

"Whoa!" Yelled Violet as she put up a forcefield, protecting her from a shotgun blast. As the thug with the shotgun reloaded, Dash came rushing at him in lightning speed, knocking him out with a punch to the face. With that guy down, he showed up in front of his sister with a smug expression.

"You owe me again, Violet." Said Dash with a smug smile and tone. Violet narrowed her eyes and was about to speak when she spotted another thug coming at Dash with a crowbar.

Seeing him, she released the barrier and put a forcefield behind Dash. Just in time to block the man from hitting her brother with the crowbar. Before Dash could do anything, Violet put the thug into a ball of energy before beginning to shake him up like a blender. After a minute, she let the man go, who was too dazed to actually do anything.

"Now we're even." Said Violet with a dull tone before she began to deal with other thugs with her mom and dad. Frowning, Dash began to knock out other thugs, using his speed to increase the power of his punches and to avoid their attacks.

Elastigirl, meanwhile, was wrapping an arm around a chair before flinging it into a group of thugs. With them distracted by the chair, she went into them and began knocking them out with stretched out limbs. Her husband was dealing with some buffed-up thugs, holding one in a firm grip while knocking one out with a single punch. With that thug taken out, he took out the other one by slamming his head into the ground so hard that he was knocked unconscious.

With their numbers dwindling, the rest decided to turn tell and run. One, in particular, was running away with a bag of stolen jewels. Before he could use an emergency exit, a force field knocked him back. Turning around he saw Violet smirking at him before enveloping him in a ball of energy.

Eventually, the gang of thugs were either knocked out or surrendered. With all them taken out, the cops came in and began arresting them.

"Thanks for the assist, Mr. Incredible." Said a lead cop as he shook the hand of Mr. Incredible. "You and your team are a godsend for this city."

"No need to thank us." Said Mr. Incredible. "It's just part of the job. And we're not a team. We're a family." The cop acknowledged that with a nod before leaving with the thugs. Once he was gone, Bob sighed.

"That was quite a big gang, wasn't it, honey?" Asked Bob as he looked at Helen, who was congratulating their kids for a job well done.

"Yeah." Said Helen as she put a hand on her chin. "Normally it would just be half a dozen guys. This gang had at least fourteen members. Quite strange."

"Not to mention they had these." Said Dash as he pointed at an assault rifle being carried away by a SWAT officer. The rifle being a U.S. made M4 carbine. An actual M4 and not a civilian AR-15. Two thugs had them when they raided this jewelry store and they were the first the family took out, seeing them as the biggest threat of the bunch.

"Yeah." Said Bob as he held one, careful not to accidentally fire it. "How in the heck did they get these? No way the government will allow military-grade weapons into the hands of common thugs like these." He then gave the one he had to an officer, who carefully took it away.

"Agreed." Said Helen. "Someone is supplied these thugs, but who?"

"You think it's an anti-super?" Suggested Violet, bringing her two cents into the conversation.

"It's possible." Said Helen. "But wouldn't make too much sense. No, I think it's something more." She then sighed. "Look, it's getting late. You two go back home. The family car can take you back home. We need to investigate this further on our own." Violet and Dash wanted to protest, but Helen wasn't having it, saying that its nearly midnight and that the two needed the rest so they can go to school. Reluctantly, the two got into the family car, which then drove off on its own, autopilot now in control.

With them gone, Helen looked at Bob.

"Any ideas?" Asked Helen. Bob sighed.

"No idea." Said Bob. "Perhaps a crime family is starting to get bold? Or some new supervillain is trying to make a name for himself by providing military-grade weapons to common thugs in exchange for loyalty? Whatever it is, we need to put a stop to it." Helen nodded in agreement.

"Let's go and interrogate those people at the police station. Perhaps some of them are willing to talk?" Suggested Helen. With that, the two exited the jewelry store and called for Bob's old car to pick them up.

Meanwhile, on a rooftop, two figures were spying on the police and the two supers. One had the same armor as the ones that attacked the Ashen one sometime ago, growling just like them and holding a sword of the same design as well.

The other wore a church outfit with a yellow mask void of any expression on it. Holding a sniper rifle, the man chuckled.

"This is something that'll get her attention." Said the man. The large knight growled at that. "Now. Now. The time will come for you and your friends to taste the blood of supers. For now, let's just observe them. You don't want to make our leader mad." The knight growled again, but nonetheless stayed obeyed and observed the supers get into their recently arrived car and take off to the police station.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

* * *

"It's so great to see you again, aunt Irina." Said Tony as he looked at his aunt in happiness. "It's a shame that uncle Eygon isn't here. I miss him." Irina giggled at that.

"He misses you too, Tony." Said Irina. "No matter how tough he acts. Remember, him insulting you is how you can tell he likes you."

"I would know. Your mother did it a lot when we met." Said the Ashen one, now no longer in his armor, revealing him to have brown eyes and hair that was similar to his sons'. Karla slapped her husband for that, but had a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

"Anyway, I hope that you are ready for the little dinner meetup with your girlfriend's parents." Said Karla, remembering that it was tomorrow.

"Yes, I am." Said Tony. "I'm excited for the Parrs to finally meet you guys. You'll love them. I promise."

"We'll hold you to that, son." Said the Ashen one as he dined on his food. Karla nodded in agreement before dining on her own food as well.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

* * *

"Tch." Said Eygon as he lifted his massive hammer from the group of skeletons that tried to kill him, some of them having a wheel in their bodies for some reason. "The Ashen one was right. These bastards with wheels are annoying." Eygon then looked around the tomb that he was in, his investigations bringing him here. "No Darkwraiths here. Strange. Usually there's one or two in places like these nowadays."

The Darkwraiths were attracted to the tombs of old kings and mass graveyards long forgotten by society today. On occasion they go to more modern cemeteries, but they always kept themselves hidden, draining the humanity of whatever corpses in the cemeteries or any poor sod that found them.

But here, there weren't any Darkwraiths. Examining an open coffin, Eygon could sense that the corpse inside had been drained of what humanity it had left as well as its soul. And it was done quite recently, maybe a day ago.

Growling, Eygon wondered what the hell was going on.

"**Usually they stay in these places, only going out when they sense great amount of humanity or when they grow desperate for more souls." **Thought Eygon. **"Based on what the Ashen one has in his reports, the Darkwraiths in this region are growing more active. Becoming more stronger too. How though? One needs someone skilled in the art of transferring souls to raw power to help them acquiring strength through souls. And none of the Darkwraiths are capable of doing such a thing. Either they've figured out a way to garner strength through souls…or someone is using souls to strengthen these wraiths."** Sighing, Eygon got ready to leave, seeing that he can't find anything else from this place.

"**I hope the Ashen one is having fun with my cranky wife with him."** Thought Eygon. **"But he better not be doing that kind of 'fun'. If he is, his wife and I will be making him regret it."**

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Ashen One**

* * *

"***Sighs* Eygon.** **Why do you think I would do such a thing with Irina?"** Thought the Ashen one as Irina talked with Tony, talking about how she hoped she would be a good mother and how she'll be pleased with Tony will play with his cousin, something that Tony agreed to do.

"Eygon?" Asked Karla as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Eygon." Said Ashen one as he looked at his wife, seeing the amusement in her eyes.

"Hmm…I agree with him to an extent. Irina is quite attractive. And easy to manipulate." Said Karla, looking at Irina and her beautiful blond hair.

"I would never do that. Both because of you and my own virtues." Said the Ashen one.

"That and Eygon will beat you to a pulp if you did that to poor Irina." Said Karla, looking at her husband with a smirk.

"Yes. Like he did to those two poor souls." Said the Ashen one, remembering how two non-undead beings attempted to trick Irina into following them home for a…good time. When Eygon found out what they attempted to do with Irina, he personally taught them a lesson.

And now they were drinking and eating through a straw and had to get several surgeries to reattach some bones to the right places.

"Hmm…" Karla then smirked. "I think he's just jealous. He can't have sex with his wife now that she's pregnant." Before the Ashen one could argue with that, Karla forced him to look at him with a seductive smile. "Let's make him a little more jealous." She then kissed him on the lips before dragging him away from the living room.

Sighing, the Ashen one allowed himself to be dragged to their room. Good thing that their room was soundproof.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

* * *

"So, this is where they live?" Asked a woman in a mourning dress as she looked at the house where the Ashen one and his family lived in.

"Yes, my lady." Said a man with a white church grab and a yellow mask. "Not to mention there's a little dinner date they're planning with a family of supers called the Parrs. Its in their family restaurant." Upon hearing that the woman chuckled.

"Well, that certainly interesting." Said the woman while tapping her helm. "I think we may need to readjust our plan a bit." Chuckling to herself, the woman sadistically thought of how she planned to ruin the Ashen one's son's chance to have a family.

"**You ruined my family, Ashen one. And now I will do the same for yours."** Thought the woman as she remembered her sisters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Guest- Yes, I am fine. Just been updating other stories over this one because the drive to write for them is stronger than this one. Fortunately, I've finally finished this chapter.**

* * *

**Ryder residence**

**Kitchen**

* * *

"Today is the big day." Said Karla as she began to comb her hair for work. "Let's hope that today isn't as busy as before. I don't want to go to the store in short notice."

"It'll be fine, Karla." Said the Ashen one as he prepared two cups of coffee. "I already reserved some of the food at the restaurant for the dinner. More than enough if any of them want second helpings of anything on the menu. Or even thirds."

"Good idea." Said Karla as she finished, going over to her husband and taking her coffee. "Now we just need to make sure we do our part right. You won't embarrass our son, correct?"

"Yes." Said the Ashen one as he sipped his coffee. "Do you want me to help with the restaurant? I can cook."

"Not as well as me." Said Karla. "Just handle the orders and the paperwork. I'll send someone to ask for your help should the need arise." The Ashen one nodded and finished his coffee. He then brought out his phone and called Eygon. A few seconds later, Eygon picked up.

"What is it, you bastard?" Asked Eygon as he sat in front of a fire that he made. "If my wife is about to deliver the baby, say it. And I'll come immediately."

"It's not that." Said the Ashen one. "I'm asking about the mission. Did you find anything?"

"No." Said Eygon as he got up. "Aside from some skeletons and some robbed graves, nothing. Not a single wraith in sight. I don't like this, Ashen one. They're planning something. Or rather, someone is controlling them." The Ashen one nodded at that, agreeing with Eygon. Something was off and it worried him. What were the Dark Wraiths planning?

Sighing, he told Eygon to continue searching before ending the call.

"**Just ignore it for now. You have a dinner to get ready." **Thought the Ashen one before going back to Karla, who was getting dressed in her work clothes.

* * *

**Few hours later**

**Violet**

* * *

"Okay, you better not mess this up for me, Dash." Said Violet as she looked at her brother as he ate his lunch. Since it was Saturday, the two were either practicing their superpowers or enjoying their life.

"Whatever." Said Dash with a cheeky smile. "I'll be sure no to embarrass you with Tony." Violet just glared at her brother, knowing that he will just to spite her.

"If you do, then I'll tell mom and dad who snuck out and watched the teen-rated movie last month." Threatened Violet with a smirk. That caused Dash to glare at her.

"Hey, it wasn't that grown up and you know it!" Yelled Dash.

"Tell that to mom and dad if you plan to embarrass me with Tony and his parents." Said Violet. The two siblings continued to glare at each other for awhile before Dash pouted.

"Fine." Said Dash as he extended out his hand, which Violet took and they shook. After they've done so, Violet went back to studying for a math test at the end of the week.

"So, have you've heard about anything from that recent gun trafficking?" Asked Dash after a while. Violet just sighed as she thought about it.

Ever since that attempted robbery, both the CIA and FBI have been investigating into recent gun trafficking at the request of Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. What they got surprised them all. Apparently, a US military base in Europe had their guns stolen and that the weapons taken by the Incredible family were the exact same as those that were stolen. Currently, the government was looking into this along with what Supers had powers that had mindreading powers or anything that can help with the investigations.

Yesterday, the government had given both their parents and Lucius Best, AKA the hero Frozone, orders to look into their city's criminal elements, to find out where they got the weapons and if they had more. Fortunately, Lucius told them to just go on the dinner and that he's more than capable of dealing with some gun-trafficking crooks, having dealt with more menacing things during the golden age of Supers.

It took some convincing, but Helen managed to convince her husband to just let Frozone deal with it alone tonight after one more attempt at investigating the stolen guns, saying they made a promise to Violet to be there for the meetup.

"No, other than that Frozone found a lead that might figure out what is going on, mom and dad haven't been discussing much with me." Said Violet, causing Dash to pout.

"Man, why aren't they telling us?" Complained Dash. "We're heroes too. We helped defeat Syndrome's drone and stop Evelyn. We should be out there, helping to bring these bad guys in." While a part of her knew that their parents were just trying to protect them from the more hideous parts of the world, she also agreed with Dash. They already seen and dealt with guys with guns, giant robots that nearly killed them, and dealt with the trauma of nearly dying. If they can deal with all that, then they can handle a bunch of crooks that were dealing with guns.

"I don't know, Dash." Said Violet. "Maybe there's more to this case than we know. Still, its frustrating."

"Yeah, it is." Said Dash with a pout. After a few minutes, Dash changed the subject. "Anyway, is Tony's parents going to have burgers for the dinner? I'm feeling like eating a hamburger for dinner."

"I'll ask, but I think they'll do steak." Said Violet. "Whatever it is, you better eat it."

"Fine." Said Dash, a bit annoyed. "But I'm not eating any vegetables or some other healthy foods."

"You'll ate it and like it! Besides, that stuff is good for you." Said Violet. The two then started arguing with each other. Something that caused Edna to shake her head and take Jak-Jak upstairs.

"Siblings." Said Edna with an unamused look as she went upstairs. "Always fighting with each other." Jak-Jak just laughed at that.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Bob**

* * *

"Go long!" Yelled Mr. Incredible as he threw a wooden crate at four thugs that were trying to escape with a truck full of counterfeit money. The crate hit two of the criminals and send them crashing into the ground, unconscious. Before the others could do anything, Frozone came out of nowhere and blasted them with his powers, freezing them into place.

"That out to keep you guys still until the cops arrive." Said Frozone, looking at the thugs with a smirk. Looking at Bob, Frozone asked where Helen was. Just in the nick of time, Elastigirl came towards them with a criminal in her hands.

"This guy is the ringleader." Said Elastigirl as she dropped him in front of his fellow criminals. "Tried to take off in a hidden car on the other side of the warehouse."

The three had found a lead that the stolen guns a few days ago originated from a warehouse in the docks of their city. Upon investigating, they found five crooks inside, loading cargo into the truck that some of them were trying to escape in, some of which was counterfeit money. Needless to say, they'll be spending a long time in prison. They already contacted the police and they should be here any moment now.

Looking at the crooks in disdain, Bob looked at Frozone.

"Check the truck for any contraband." Said Bob. "We'll deal with these guys." Frozone nodded before going over to the truck. Once Frozone was gone, Bob and Elastigirl looked at the leader, a man of Asian descent.

"Alright, punk, you're going to tell us everything." Said Bob as he glared at the leader, who just gulped in fear. "Where did you get the guns?"

"What guns?" Asked the thug, lying through his teeth. Helen rolled her eyes.

"Look, don't play dumb with us." Said Elastigirl. "A great deal of military weapons were stolen from a base in Europe. We know for a fact that they came from this warehouse. The same one where we saw you guys offload counterfeit money. So, how about you save us some time and tell us where did you get those guns." After seeing the thug not answering, Helen sighed. "Alright, let me give you two options you have. The first option is where you tell us everything you know and we'll do whatever we can to protect you and your fellow criminals from any retribution from your bosses." She said this as gently as possible, so as to entice them to give them this option. "The other option is where we beat it out of your." She said this as threatening as possible while Bob cracked his knuckles. "Which one are you going to choose." The thug just gulped, looking at both heroes, before speaking.

"Look, our boss isn't your typical crime boss." Said the thug, clearly scared for his life. "She doesn't deal well with those that betray her in any shape or form. If I tell you, she'll do things to me that you can't imagine in your wildest dreams!' Seeing the sheer terror in his eyes, cause both Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible to look at each other in surprise.

Clearly this crime boss was something to be feared. Enough to make this guy more intimidated at her and not at them.

"Is she a super?" Asked Elastigirl, glaring at the thug so to keep him scared.

"I can't say." Said the thug. "She'll kill me." Frowning at that, Mr. Incredible was about to grab the man and shake him up a bit when Frozone yelled out.

"Uh guys! These crooks got more than counterfeit money and stolen guns in here." Said Frozone as he came out, struggling to bring out something from the truck. After a few minutes, the thing came out and Bob and Helen were shocked to see it.

The thing was a massive sword, easily eclipsing Helen in height. It's handle was golden and intricate. The blade itself, however was black as if charred on the lower half end of it, but was red as blood on the front half of the blade. It also had two slight curves that formed a spike on the middle of both of the sword's edges.

"My god." Said Elastigirl in astonishment, walking over to Frozone, eyes wide in shock. Looking at the sword, Helen could see that Frozone was struggling to hold it, even with it being on the pavement, indicating its weight. As the two heroes examined it, the thug began to panic.

"Oh crap. Oh crap. She's going to kill us!" Yelled the thug in panic. He was about to run for it, but Mr. Incredible grabbed him.

"And why is that?" Asked Mr. Incredible, wondering why this man was panicking over the discovery of a simple large sword. Making swords that looked ancient and sell them for profit wasn't unheard of, though they usually were swords that were of already known designs and not new ones, not to mention able to be carried by most people, but this guy was panicking too much over a simple sword.

"You don't know my boss!" Yelled the man as he struggled to get out of Mr. Incredible's grip. "She's going to kill me and my family for this! And then she's going to come after all of you!" Before Mr. Incredible could question the man further, several police officers arrived with a SWAT team, guns at the ready. Upon seeing the heroes, however, they stood down and walked up to them.

"We got your call. We'll take them all into custody." Said the officer in charge before ordering his men to round up the crooks.

"There's counterfeit money and military weaponry in that truck." Said Elastigirl as both her and Frozone stepped away from the truck with Frozone letting go of the sword, letting it smack into the ground with an audible thud. "We also found that." Elastigirl pointed at the giant sword. "For whatever reason, it caused him to panic. Might want to get forensics to figure out what it is."

"Understood." Said the officer as his men took the crooks into custody. As they did, the leader of the criminals began to ramble.

"You've all just signed your death warrants!" Yelled the man as he was being taken away. "You think that mech you fought or Syndrome was bad!? You haven't nothing! Nothing!" Despite the man clearly going mad, the heroes couldn't help but shudder at his words. Whoever his boss is, she doesn't fool around and will eliminate threats to her business.

"Whoever his boss is, she must be one scary lady." Said Frozone as the police did their work.

"Yeah." Said Mr. Incredible, getting a bad feeling about this assignment. "Well, I made a promise. This will be our last mission until Violet's little dinner party is over. You can handle yourself alone Frozone."

"Bob." Said Frozone, making sure the police didn't hear the name. "I got this. I've been a solo hero for a long time. I can handle myself. Besides, that guy was probably over exaggerating about his boss. She's probably just some super with a good superpower. Nothing that we couldn't handle before." He then looked at both husband and wife, smiling at them. "Have fun at the dinner." With that, Frozone left, using his powers to create a bridge of ice of which he skated across. Smiling at the departing Frozone, Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible left for their car. Once they were away from the police and in their car, they spoke.

"We should be thankful that Lucius is such a nice friend." Said Helen as Bob drove the car back home. "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be attending this dinner with Violet."

"Yeah." Said Bob, still a bit unsure of doing this. On one hand he wanted to be there for his little girl and he wanted to see Tony's father. Having already seen his mother, he could tell they were good folk and that they raised their boy right. But on the other hand, this recent gun trafficking situation could be more dangerous than they think it was. The way that man reacted. The giant heavy sword. It all left him wondering how the heck is in charge and if they're even more dangerous than Syndrome ever was. "I still feel like there's stuff we don't know yet though, honey. Its obvious there's more going on than just gun trafficking. That sword hints at it."

"Yeah." Said Helen as she placed a hand on her chin. "I looked at the blade. It definitely ancient. It wasn't made recently. It doesn't have the typically signs of a recently created blade. If anything, it shows some signs of rust and authentic marking of being burned." Helen then frowned. "You're right in thinking something deeper is going on, Bob, but we can figure it out, tomorrow. For now, we got a dinner to prepare for."

"Yeah." Said Bob. "Okay. But after this, we're right back on the job." Helen rolled her eyes at that, but nodded. They then drove back home in relatively peace.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Few hours later**

* * *

In a dark and dreary room, a woman was being told what had transpired in the warehouse. She wasn't happy.

"You mean to tell me that the supers found that cache!?" Yelled a woman in the mourning dress, glaring at the police officer that had told her this. "And that the police are currently raiding my warehouse!?" The police officer gulped at the woman's rage. Though she wore a mask that concealed her face, the man could still feel her rage as she marched up to him.

"Y-yes." Said the man. "I tried to warn the men there, but it was too late. Officers have ransacked the warehouse for anything it had. Money. Weaponry. Even some of your artifacts."

"I paid you to be my eyes and ears within the police department in this city, to warn me if anyone was in the process of hampering my operations." Said the woman, glaring at the officer, who took a step back in fright as the woman placed a hand on the sword hilt on her waist. "But instead of doing what you're paid to do, you laze around, wasting the money my people bring in. You fail to do regular checkup. And the one time I need you to do your job, you fail it utterly." She then got right up to the man's face, silently thankful they were about the same height. "So, tell me, give me one reason to let you live. And it better not because you have dirt on us. You think I haven't prepared for such a thing."

The man opened his mouth to speak, thinking of something, anything to keep him alive. But when he couldn't say even a single word, for a straight three minutes, the woman brought out her sword, a katana, take a step back and slit the man's throat. Not even caring as the man bled out in her floor, the woman placed her sword back in its scabbard and sighed.

"Good help is so hard to find in the living." Said the woman before two men in white church garb walked in. They wore golden masks that smiled and masked their expressions. "Get this body out of my sight and make good excuse why he's dead." The two men did as the woman ordered and dragged the body out of the room she was in, leaving her alone to ponder how to fix this recent hiccup in her operations. A few minutes later, a man arrived, wearing the same clothing as the two men from before. The man walked right up to the woman and whispered into her ear. Upon hearing the news, she scoffed.

"Hmph, that foolish knight from Carim is trying to find us? Pathetic. That knight can't think his way out of anything without wanting to bash something in first. He's of no danger to us. Let him play with the scraps of our work. By the time he figures out what we are and what we're doing, it'll be too late." Said the woman. She then turned towards the man. "Are the men ready to finally kill the Ashen one and his family?" The man nodded. "Good. The time has come for us to finally rid of the one that killed Yuria and Elfriede. For robbing us the one chance we had to achieve the great serpent Kaathe's wish. The time has come for the Sable church of Londor to have their vengeance." With that, the woman brought out her sword again and looked at it. It was sweet to take the blood of a incompetent, fool with it, but it would be even sweeter to kill the man responsible for killing her two older sisters.

"**I will have my vengeance."** Thought the woman as she held her sword.

* * *

**Later**

**Night (Around 7:30 PM)**

**Happy Platter**

* * *

"Okay kids, here we are." Said Helen as Bob parked their car near the Happy platter entrance. Once he did, she looked at their kids, all dressed up in their best casual clothing. Dash wore a yellow shirt with blue trunks. Violet wore a pink shirt with white khakis. And Jak-Jak just wore a blue baby onesie. She herself just wore brown khakis and black shirt while Bob wore a white dress shirt and khakis. Not exactly formal wear, but she doubted that the Ryders' would care too much.

"Okay, we're here. Now let's just be a normal family." Said Violet, glaring at Dash in particular, who rolled his eyes. She then turned towards her parents, jittery. "No superpowers. No embarrassing jokes or remarks. Let's just have a normal dinner and conversations."

"Honey." Said Helen with a smile, looking at her daughter, who looked back. "It's going to be alright. The Ryders are good people. Just stay calm and relax. Everything will be alright on our part. I promise."

"Yeah." Said Bob as he looked back at his daughter and gave her a reassuring smile. "Just take a deep breath. It'll help." Violet did as she was told and took a deep breath. Once she did, her nerves finally calmed down.

"Sorry, guys." Said Violet, looking apologetic. "Its just that this dinner is getting me so nervous. I just want to give Tony's parents a good impression on us. So that they won't object to him dating me."

"They won't reject you honey." Said Helen, stretching an arm to pat Violet's head. "They're wonderful people. This dinner will go great. Just trust us." Gulping, Violet nodded. With that, everyone got out of the car and went inside. Upon entering they saw Tony and Karla sitting in a large booth along with an unidentified woman and man.

The man must be Tony's father, having the same brown hair and eyes as his son. The woman was an oddity, however. With blond eye and milky white eyes, the Parrs couldn't identify her or her relations to the Ryders. Nevertheless, the Parrs walked in and greeted the everyone.

"Hello, its nice to see you all." Said the man as he got up along with Karla and the woman and shook the hand of Bob. "My name is Alex Ryder. As you can guess, I'm the father of Tony. And this is my lovely wife, Karla." Karla just smiled and shook Helen's hand. "And this is Tony's aunt. Irina Carim. She's staying with us until she gives birth to her child."

"A pleasure it is to meet you all." Said Irina, bowing in respect. "It's so good to see the family whose daughter will marry my dear nephew." Both Tony and Violet blushed at that, causing Dash to snicker.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all as well." Said Bob as he let go of the Ashen one's hand. "Especially you, sir. It's good to finally meet the father of this family."

"Same to you." Said the Ashen one with a slight bow. "Its good to finally meet you all. My son has told me a lot about you all. How much of a good family you all are to your daughter."

"How nice of him to say." Said Helen with a smile. "I hope we can do the same for you."

"And us to you." Said Karla before motioning for everyone to take a seat in the table. Once everyone was seated. Karla spoke again. "What do you all want for food? We've got enough food in the kitchen for everyone to have seconds. Even thirds of everything we have on the menu."

"Steak for me." Said Bob with the Ashen one nodding in agreement.

"Something light and healthy for me." Said Irina, patting her pregnant belly.

"Spaghetti for me and Violet." Said Tony with Violet nodding her head in agreement.

"I'll take spaghetti too." Said Helen with a smile. "And, if you can, some baby food for Jak-Jak.:

"A hamburger for me." Said Dash.

"Alright then." Said Karla, memorizing everyone's orders. "I'll get cooking right away. It won't take too long, I promise." With that Karla went into the kitchen to get everyone's meals ready.

"I'll help her out." Said the Ashen one, getting up. "It'll be quicker that way."

"Do hurry." Said Irina. "I do feel rather hungry." The Ashen one nodded and quickly left to help Karla with the food. Once they were gone, Irina looked at the Parrs and smiled. "So, any of up for discussions on Violet and Tony?"

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Thirty minutes later**

**Eygon**

* * *

"***Growls* **Something is fishy." Said Eygon as he searched another forgotten cemetery. "This if the fifth tomb I looked and still nothing. No Darkwraiths. Just skeletons. What is going on?"

Breaking down a door that led to another crypt, Eygon could hear the sounds of a Darkwraith feasting. "Tch, about time." Walking in, Eygon could see a Darkwraith sucking what humanity left was in a corpse in a coffin. It, however, stopped upon sensing Eygon. Turning around, it growled at him as it brought out its sword. Huffing, Eygon brought out his giant hammer and readied for a fight.

Making the first move, the Darkwraith charged at Eygon, one hand glowing bright red. Having seen this tactic before, Eygon simply rolled deeper into the crypt, something that should be impossible for a man in full metal armor, yet Eygon did it without pause. Because of this roll, the Darkwraith missed its attack and stumbled out of the crypt. When it turned around, Eygon back at it with his giant hammer.

Aiming it horizontally, Eygon hit the Darkwraith with the top part of his hammer and pushed it away from the crypt, where he could use his hammer and shield freely. Yelling out, Eygon kept pushing the Darkwraith further until he pushed it into the ground. Growling, the Darkwraith attempted to get up, but Eygon simply hammered it into the ground. And kept hammering it until it's chest caved in and black blood spilled everywhere. Groaning, the Darkwraith gave its last breath and died. Tapping his foot on the Darkwraith to make sure it was dead, Eygon then began a search of the Darkwraith.

"**Perhaps there is something on this thing that can give me a clue on to their recent behavior."** Thought Eygon as he rummaged the Darkwraith for anything that can help in his investigation. After a few minutes of searching, Eygon couldn't find anything useful. **"Argh. Okay, so there's nothing on them that indicates they're being controlled. Perhaps its just the graves are running low on humanity? Its possible, we've been here hundreds of years. Possibly enough time for the Darkwraiths to run out of crypts to find and are forced to go to the cities for humanity. But if that was the case, why just this city? No…, someone is controlling them. It has to be. What how?" **

As Eygon thought these things, he suddenly heard some strange sounds. They sounded like the winds but darker and louder. To some, it was a strange noise. But to Eygon, he knew them all to well. Turning around, Eygon could see several men, three of them, coming out from the ground in glowing white circles. Knowing that he needed to hide, he hide behind another crypt and stayed behind it as the men began to get their bearings. As soon as they did, they saw the dead Darkwraith.

"What is this?" Asked one man as they approached the Darkwraith. "How did this one die?"

"Obviously one of the Darkmoon knights killed him." Said a 2nd man as he approached the Darkwraith and examined the body. "Must be one of their strongest ones. This one was beaten to beaten to death by a rather large hammer. Perhaps it's one of their Carim knights?"

"It matters not." Said the 3rd man. "The death of one wraith does not matter. We already have enough Darkwraths to enact our revenge against the Ashen one."

"Are you sure?" Asked the 2nd man. "The Ashen one has proven time and time again to be able to overcome even the most impossible of odds. We may not succeed in killing him."

"Even if we don't succeed in killing him, we can still hurt him." Said the first man. "While he may survive against the Darkwraiths and our assassins, his family, particularly his son, won't. That witch may be skilled in the dark, but focusing on her child, will allow us to end her life."

"And of the other family?" Asked the 2nd man.

"Its their fault for their daughter falling in love with the son of our most hated enemy. Though we should be grateful for them for giving us an opportunity to eliminate the man in a moment of weakness." Said the 3rd man. "However, for us to be there when he dies, we must accomplish our mission and find more Darkwraiths." With that the 2nd man got up and nodded. The three were about to leave when they heard a voice.

"I don't think so." Said Eygon as he revealed himself, brandishing his shield and hammer. "You're talk of killing my friend got me full of rage. And I think I'll expel it my killing all three of you." With that Eygon charged at the surprised men.

* * *

**Five minutes later**

* * *

"Tch…you fools didn't provide much of a fight." Said Eygon as he looked around him, seeing the bloody and mutilated bodies of his adversaries. Despite him having the upper hand and killing one by hitting him in the head so hard that his head flew away, when they recovered and fought back, they couldn't even land a single effective hit on him. "Pathetic. And you men think you can kill the Ashen one? Pah. If you couldn't even land a good hit on me, you won't stand a chance against him."

"***Coughs out blood*** Perhaps." Said one of the men, the only one still alive. The 2nd one, Eygon believed. "But we don't need to kill him this day. We just need to end the lives of his family." Eygon glared at the man, though it was hidden by his helmet. Putting away his hammer and shield, Eygon grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him up, not caring how much the man is in danger because of this.

"And you plan to do so during his little dinner?" Asked Eygon, enraged more than ever. He hadn't felt his enraged since those fools that tried to have some 'fun' with his wife. "With innocents like the Parrs? Not only that, but you want to kill his only child. You people are scum. Just like the ones' back in our old world."

"You should know." Said the man, looking at Eygon with his broken mask, revealing a brown eye. "You used to work with such people before, right?" Upon hearing that, Eygon roared out in anger and snapped the man's neck before tossing him away. Roaring out again, Eygon brought out his hammer and slammed it into the man's body, causing blood to spill everywhere, including his own armor. He didn't stop there, though. He kept hammering and hammering the body until it was nothing more than a bloody stain on the ground. Panting, Eygon finally regained control and placed his hammer on his back.

"**These men are part of a group that want to hurt the Ashen one because he did to them. Well he made a lot of enemies, but most of them are dead. And the majority of them can't control the Darkwraiths. Except…no it can't be. We exterminated them all. How could they still be around?"** Thought Eygon in disbelief, knowing of only one group of people that can control the Darkwraiths somewhat. **"Need to warn the Ashen one. He's in danger. Along with his family, Irina, and the Parrs."** With that Eygon brought out his phone and began to dial the Ashen One's number, praying that he wasn't too late.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

* * *

"And here's a gift from us to you." Said the Ashen one as Karla brought out a large cookie pie filled with ice cream. "As a token of our appreciation for your daughter having interest in our son."

"Mr. Ryder, you shouldn't have." Said Helen, a bit shocked, at the gift as Karla placed it on the table. The dinner went extremely well. Aside from Irina making the odd comment here and there due to her pregnancy, everyone got along well. Bob and the Ashen one, in particular, found that they had a lot in common. A want to protect their family and give them a good life. A good sense of justice. And a love for protecting the weak.

Karla and Helen got along well as well. Mostly the same things as their husbands', but also the addition of loving literature, though they have differences of taste. Karla loved dark and mysterious type of books, like Cthulhu books, while Helen prefer books with happy endings or had poetry in them. Overall, everyone liked each other and that made Violet and Tony happy. Now that they're parents were happy with each other, that meant they'll allow them to continue dating each other. And now it was time for desert.

"Please, it's our treat. For making you wait sometime for your food." Said the Ashen one. "And as a way to say that we approve of Tony dating your daughter. She's certainly a keeper."

"As is your son." Said Bob as Dash began to dine in on the dessert, completely happy with the desert. Everything the Ryders' cook was excellent and tasty and so was their dessert! "I think it's all in agreement that we should allow our children to continue dating. Right?" Karla and Helen nodded in agreement. That caused Violet and Tony to smile and look at each other in happiness. That was it. It's over. They got the approval of their parents. Now all that was left was for them to continue dating and see if they're compatible enough to marry. This was a good day. Now nothing can ruin it.

"Oh, this a good day!" Yelled Irina, clapping her hands rapidly with a big smile on her face. "A very good day!" After she stopped clapping, she got up and said she needed to use the rest room. After telling everyone to eat the desert with care, she left for the restroom. Once she did, the Ashen one got a phone call. He was about to deny the call when he saw that it was Eygon. Thinking it was serious, he got up.

"Sorry everyone, but I need to take this call." Said the Ashen one in an apologetic tone. "Try to save me sone desert, okay?" With that, the Ashen one quickly left the dinner. Karla threw him a glance, but one glance from him told her that it was urgent. Sighing, she nodded and let him go.

Going to the kitchen, the Ashen one placed into a storage room and answered the call.

"Eygon, you just had to call now?" Asked the Ashen one, not exactly mad with his friend. If he was calling, it must be something urgent.

"Yes, I had to because you're in danger along your entire family and the Parrs!" Yelled Eygon as he rushed towards the nearest bonfire he knew of. Before the Ashen one could comprehend what Eygon said, the knight of Carim continued. "Some enemies of your past is coming to interrupt your dinner! To kill you, your family, and the Parrs! Get out of your shit restaurant and get to safety! I'll contact Yorshka and explain everything. Maybe get some backup to. Just get everyone to safety!" Still shocked, the Ashen shook his head and replayed everything that Eygon said. After making sure he got everything, he spoke.

"Okay, I'll get everyone out. Hopefully they haven't…" The Ashen one couldn't say anymore before the shattering of glass was heard and several yelps of surprise came from outside. One of them was his son. "Damnit, its too late! Get some backup and come to the Happy Platter! As quick as you can." With that, the Ashen one ended the call and went to the meat locker. He needed to suit up.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

* * *

"Ow!" Yelled Dash as he was manhandled to the ground by a large man in some metal armor, wearing a mask with the imprint of a skull on it. Looking around, Dash could see that similar men are holding his family plus Karla and Tony in place to the ground.

"Take your hands off my wife and kids!" Yelled Bob as he was being held to the ground by three men, one for his hands, another for his legs, and another for his body.

"What do you guys want!?" Demanded Helen. One moment, they were all enjoying themselves. The next the door to the Happy platter was broken down and a dozen men in old armor came and manhandled them to the ground. They acted so quick that none of them could react before they were upon them.

"What we want is vengeance." Said a woman's voice as a woman made her way towards the Parrs and Ryders, escorted by two men in white church garb and golden masks. Crushing glass as she made her to them, the woman revealed herself to be a woman of average height and wore a black mourning dress. She also wore a grey, metal, billed mask that concealed her face. The mask opened out the back of her head, revealing her long silver hair. Looking at Karla, who widened her eyes a bit at seeing the woman, she then looked at the Parrs. "And you all gave us that opportunity. Not only did we catch the Ashen one in the moment of weakness, we'll also kill off his entire family. For that, I'll make your deaths…" She then brought out a katana. "A quick one."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

**Somewhere**

* * *

In some tall building somewhere, people were going about their business, talking with each other or handing each other documents. As this was happening, a white circle began to form on the fifth highest floor of the building. From it came Eygon and he was in a hurry. Once he was fully materialized, he began running towards the stairs, pushing away people, who gasped out in surprise, not at the sight of the man in old armor, but because he was in a hurry.

"Out of my way!" Yelled Eygon as he barreled past people as they moved away from the knight. "Get me that bloody half breed god! My friends and wife are in danger!" Finding the stairs, Eygon barreled through them and reached the very top of the building. Barreling through the door, Eygon entered the top floor, moving towards a particular room on the floor. As he was barreling through, he prayed that he could get help before it was too late.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Happy platter**

* * *

"Who shall I kill first?" Asked the woman as she examined her blade before looking at the Parrs and Ryders. Walking towards them, she ignored the glares given to her by Bob, Helen, and Karla. Looking at all of them, the woman looked at the baby, who was crying for his parents as he was being held by one of the men with old armor. "Perhaps the baby first? What do you think?" She then placed her blade on Jak-Jak's neck, causing Bob to glare and everyone else to look at her in horror.

"You do that, and I'll tear you to pieces!" Yelled Bob, hiding his fear at her harming his son. The woman just chuckled at that.

"You try to show anger at me, but I can see through it." Said the woman as she momentarily pulled her blade away. "You're afraid of me killing your child. As any father worth a damn should." She then looked at Tony. "What about your father, boy? He's not here and he's the main event. Perhaps we should give him some incentive to show himself and to see if he's an actual man worthy of being a parent or not." She then walked over to Tony, where the men holding him lifted him up, allowing her to aim her blade's tip at his throat. Seeing this Violet begged the woman to stop.

"Please stop!" Yelled Violet, tears forming in her face. "Don't do this! Have a heart!"

"A heart?" Asked the woman as she prepared to thrust her sword at Tony's throat, the boy scared for his life and was hyperventilating. "I lost it when this boy's father killed my sisters and nearly drove my church to extinction!" With that, she was about to thrust the sword at the boy's throat when a gunshot rang out in everyone's ears. The woman scream out in pain as she was hit in the arm holding her sword, forcing her to drop it from the sudden pain. Several more gunshots rang out and men holding Karla, Helen, and Bob fell down, holes in their heads.

"You leave them all alone!" Yelled out as a man came through the open door way leading to the Happy Platter's kitchen. To the Parrs' and Tony's shock, he wore ancient knight armor with a red cape. In his hand was a sniper rifle. And he was holding it like it was an assault rifle. On his back was a giant sword. Firing again, the knight fired on the knight holding Tony, deafening everyone's ears with the gunshot, before reloading and firing the one holding Dash, all in three seconds. Tossing the gun away, the knight then brought out a large, two-handed, rusty sword, and charged at the remaining men, who all charged at the knight.

"Argh!" Yelled the woman as she looked at her bleeding arm before bringing out a orange flask and drinking it with her helmet on. Once she drank it, her bleeding arm, to the shock of the Parrs' and Tony, healed up completely, closing up until no evidence of a gunshot was there. Grabbing her sword, the woman was about to swing at the nearest person near her, Violet, when Bob tackled her, sending her flying towards a booth, crashing into it.

"That's for threatening my son!" Yelled Bob before looking at the men fighting the knight. To his amazement, despite being outnumbered by about ten, the knight was holding his own, killing one of the men in white church garb and two of the men in strange armor. Yet it was clear that he was growing tired fighting so many at once. If he didn't get any help soon, he'll die. Biting his lip, Bob looked at Helen and nodded. Looking at the floor, Helen realized that Bob had the right idea. They had to use their powers now or else no one will get out of this alive. Although it might ruin Violet's chances with Tony, unless he and his family can keep a secret, they had no choice. This was a do or die situation.

With that in mind, Helen stretched her arms around the last man in church garb, wrapping them around him, before pulling him away from the knight. She then flung him through a window, sending him flying towards the parking lot for the Happy Platter. Bob then grabbed a nearby table, ripped it off the ground, and threw it at two men that were trying to outflank the knight, sending them crashing towards the floor.

"Violet!" Yelled Helen as she and Bob stood between their family and the Ryders from the men in dark armor, some of which turned towards them, giving out load moans as they raised their left arms and emitted some sort of red shield from them. They then started to advance towards them, swords at the ready. "Put up a force field and go!" Upon hearing that, Violet looked at her mother in shock.

"But!" Started Violet before an arrow embedded itself near her hand, causing her to yelp. On instinct, she put up a barrier around her, Dash, Jak-Jak, and the Ryders. Just in time as a volley of arrows hit her barrier. They would have skewered them all if she hadn't raised it in time.

"Kill them all!" Yelled the woman with the dress as she recovered from being tackled by Bob. Around her, were reinforcements in the form of four more men in white church garbs. "Disable their powers first. They'll be easy prey then!" Acting on those orders, two of the four men, brought out small church bells and placed them near their mouths. A dark purple shield then formed around the men before they exploded into several purple circles that spread throughout the whole restaurant. As soon as they hit Violet's barrier, it dissipated, much to her shock.

Attempting to do it again, Violet couldn't summon her powers again. As she attempted again, Tony cried out for Violet to watch out. Looking up, Violet saw one of those men with skull-like masks charging at her, one of its hands lit up with light. Too close for her to dodge, Violet could just watch as its hand came bearing down towards her. Just before it could grab her face, a loud gunshot was heard and the man came crashing down at his side, a hole in his head.

"You!" Yelled the knight as he pointed at Karla. "Get the kids out of here!" He then tossed the rifle in his hand away as another man with a skull mask charged at him, sword eager for blood. Rolling out of the way of a sword swing, the knight grabbed the sword on his back and parried a blow from the man. As he did so, he suddenly got a jab in his torso from another man wearing a skull mask, his sword finding a chick in his segmented torso armor. Yelling out in pain, the knight slammed his free hand into the one that stabbed him, dazing him a bit before headbutting his sword locked opponent, dazing them too. He then sliced the head off of his first opponent before jabbing his giant sword at his 2nd opponent's heart, killing them both. Seeing this, Karla grabbed Tony and Jak-Jak, whom cried as she did so.

"Come children!" Yelled Karla, heart churning for the knight, knowing who he was. Beckoning Dash and Violet to follow her, the two tried to protest when Bob yelled out. "We must leave for safety."

"Do it!" Yelled Bob as he locked horns with another man in ancient armor and a skull mask. He disarmed the man before and was now locking arms with him. To his great surprise, the man was able to match his super strength with ease. "Get out of here!" So distracted with looking at his kids as he said this, Bob was left vulnerable to an man in church garb bringing out a crossbow and aiming a cross bolt at his head. He was about to fire when Helen kicked him in the head and wrapped her arms around it like a snake. She then tossed him out a window and out of the fight for a moment.

Looking at their parents in concern, the two children nonetheless left with Karla, Tony, and Jak-Jak, leaving their parents and the knight to face off all the men and that woman, who watched them leave. Clinking her tongue, the woman looked at the knight, bleeding from his torso as he fought two more men with skull masks.

"**Revenge will be mine today."** Thought the woman as she charged at the knight, eager for blood.

* * *

**Karla**

**Back entrance of the Happy Platter**

* * *

"We should stay and help them!" Yelled Dash as the kids and Karla made out of the restaurant via the back entrance. Upon hearing that, Karla glared at the boy.

"And do what exactly, young man?" Questioned Karla as she let go of her son, who just laid on the ground, completely stunned at what he all just witnessed. Namely his near-death experience, the fact that his girlfriend was a super, and that a knight in armor came to save them all. Violet, seeing this, knelt before him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Feeling this, he looked at Violet and smiled weakly at her, who also smiled weakly back. "Those men are more than twice your height and weight. They'll toss you around like a twig." Dash just glared at Karla, who glared back.

"It'd be better than running away like babies!" Yelled Dash, wanting to go back and help their parents to fight those guys. Sighing in irritation at Dash, Karla tried her best to hold Jak-Jak as he cried, scared and wanting his mommy.

"Sometimes running away is the best option, boy." Said Karla as she tried to comfort Jak-Jak, knowing what to do to comfort babies. But no matter what she did, the boy still cried, obviously for his own mother and her safety, something that Karla understood. "To live to fight another day, we have to run away from our enemies. No matter how distasteful it may sound." Dash, despite that wisdom, just continued to glare.

"I'm going back to help them." Declared Dash. Before Karla could react, Dash then quickly left them in a flash. And quite literally a flash. One moment he was there and the next he was gone, a gush of wind blowing through Karla's and Violet's hair.

"That insufferable brat." Said Karla, glaring at the door that Dash used to go back into the fight. Sighing, she then walked over to Violet and gave her Jak-Jak. "I need to get Irina out of there along with your brother. Can I trust you to run away and get help?" Violet, widening her eyes at that, along with Tony, shook her head.

"Mrs. Ryder. You can't leave us." Said Violet as she held Jak-Jak. "Who knows how many of those guys are waiting around the perimeter!" Karla just sighed at that, knowing that she was right.

"Then hide in the meat locker." Said Karla. "They most likely won't suspect you to be there." She then looked at her son and placed hand on his cheek. "I know this is hard, my boy, but this needs to be done. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." Tony, knowing that his mother can take care of herself, still protested. She never fought to his knowledge and he didn't want to lose her.

"Please don't go." Said Tony, tearing up. "I don't want to lose you." It broke Karla's heart to see her boy tearing up. She wanted to take him into her arms and comfort him, but she knew that it had to be done. Besides, she was more than capable of dealing with Darkwraiths and those fools that woman brought. Perhaps it was time to reveal her secret.

"Don't worry about me." Said Karla as she put a hand on Tony's face. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me, son. Things that I had to keep from you." She then let go and was about to head inside when she sensed something behind them. Pushing the children aside, Karla was then immediately impaled at the chest by a large sword. The same sword that the Darkwraiths used.

"Mom!" Yelled Tony out in horror as his mother was lifted off the ground by the Darkwraith, who growled as he did so. His compatriot, another Darkwraith, hissed as he spotted the children. Bringing up a hand, he then surrounded it with light and approached the children while his compatriot tossed Karla out of his sword and to a wall, freeing his blade.

Gasping out in horror as the two men approached them, Violet tried to activate her powers, only for them to now work. Whatever thing the church men used to nullify her powers were still in effect. She looked at Jak-Jak and saw that he too couldn't activate his powers, causing him to cry in confusion and fear. Seeing now way to successfully run from the two men, Violet looked at Tony and held him tightly along with Jak-Jak, completely afraid for the first time in her life. This wasn't like facing the Omni-droid or Evelyn's mind-controlled supers. Those times she had her family or had a chance to win. With her powers gone, she couldn't fend off two strong adults by herself. So, she held her boyfriend tightly as he registered her fear. Holding her tightly as well, he glared at the men they made their way towards them. If anything, it would prevent him from seeing his mother's corpse.

Lifting their glowing hands, the Darkwraiths were about to snatch them all up when several pillars of red hot magma separated them from the children. Stunned, the two Darkwraiths looked to see Karla, still bleeding from her chest, slammed a giant black sword at them, cutting them in half.

As the Darkwraiths disappeared into dust, Karla panted as she bled from her chest. Placing a hand to her wound, the hand then glowed. Soon it stopped and Karla removed her hand, revealing her wound was completely gone. All that was left was the hole that was made by the blade on her dress shirt. Sighing in relief, Karla then went over to the children as they looked at her in disbelief.

"Mom?" Asked Tony, completely stupefied that his mother was still alive. He thought she was dead from being stabbed in the chest and tossed across a wall. Yet here she was, completely fine. And had summoned a giant black sword to kill the Darkwraiths. Karla just let out a small smile as she knelt before Tony, Violet, and Jak-Jak.

"That's one of my many secrets, Tony." Said Karla before embracing them all. "Once this is all over, I'll tell you everything, but first, I have to save your girlfriend's family, my husband, and Irina." She then let go of them and snapped her fingers. Once she did, her clothes then changed right before their eyes, morphing into darker clothing that was raggedy and dirty. From the dark dress shirt and pants she wore during the dinner, Karla now wore a raggedy coat-dress hybrid with fingerless gloves with leather wrappings around them. Widening their eyes at this, the children were speechless as Karla snapped her fingers again and an old pointed witch hat appeared out of nowhere and landed on top of Karla's head.

Adjusting it, Karla then spoke to the kids.

"Like I said, I'll tell you later." Said Karla with a sad smile on her face. "But first, some people must be taught a lesson." She then went back inside to confront those that dared to hurt her family. Once she left, Tony and Violet looked at each other in stupor, completely stupefied at what they had just witnessed.

* * *

**Happy platter**

**Ashen One**

* * *

"Let go of her!" Yelled the Ashen one as he sliced the throat of a man in church garb, spilling blood all over his helmet by doing so. He then grabbed a throwing knife and threw it at a Darkwraith that tried to strangle Helen to death. The knife pierced the thin armor protecting his neck, finding it's way to dark flesh. Despite this wound, the Darkwraith continued to strangle Helen as she tried to escape it's clutches. Bob, seeing this, yelled out in concern for his wife. He tried to help her but four Darkwraiths dogpiled him and tried to stab him to death, only for their swords to break as they hit the tough skin of Mr. Incredible. Trying to break free, Bob couldn't do but watch as his wife was losing the battle to stay conscious.

As the air deprived Helen was about lose consciousness, a blur suddenly hit the legs of the Darkwraith causing it to go it's knees in shock. The blur returned, this time hitting the torso of the Darkwraith. The hits were so much that the Darkwraith eventually let go of Helen, who gasped out, greedily taking in as much air as she could possibly take.

Growling at the hits, the Darkwraith eventually braced itself as the blur continued to hit it from different angles. After one side, the blur moved around to hit another side. He kept doing this over and over until eventually the Darkwraith reached out and grabbed the source of the blur.

"Let go!" Yelled Dash as he flared around as the Darkwraith glared at him. Gathering light in his free hand, the Darkwraith was about to latch it on Dash when the Ashen one came and rammed his sword into his throat, killing him. Slamming the body into the floor, the Ashen one ripped his sword free of the body and looked at Dash, struggling to get out of the Darkwraith's grip. Just as the Ashen one was about to help Dash free, he suddenly got a sword rammed into his gut. Looking down at the sword, he felt a body, a womans', pressed on his armor and someone whispering in his ear.

"This is for my sisters." Said the woman that lead this attacked as she pulled her sword before stabbing the Ashen One again, piercing his armor like it was nothing. This stab caused the Ashen one to cough up blood, splattering his helmet with blood. "Know that it was Liliane of the Sable Church that finally killed you permanently." Before the woman can finish the Ashen one, she was blasted with a black fireball, engulfing her in black flames. Screaming out in pain and shock, the woman let go of her sword as she tried to instinctively douse the flames all over her. Distracted with this, she then got another black fireball.

"You whore!" Yelled Karla as she glared at the named woman as she was being engulfed in black flame, causing everyone to look at Karla in a witch outfit. Before anyone could do anything, Karla slammed her palms to the ground. Then, before everyone's eyes, the floor began to glow red before pillars of hot magma erupted from floor engulfing everyone with magma. Seeing this, Helen tried to shield dash but it was too late. The magma engulfed her and Dash along with everyone else on the room. To her complete shock, the magma didn't even hurt her. She couldn't even feel the hot intensity that came with magma as it touched her skin, only a warmness, but the warmness of magma, no, it was more akin to that of a warm fireplace with family. Kind and forthcoming.

This was in complete contrast to the Darkwraiths and the men in church garb began to burn up. The magma treating them completely differently from Helen and Dash. Their death screams were so loud that, despite Helen covering Dash's ears, he could still hear them as they were being burned alive by the magma. Though she covered her son's eyes, she knew that he would be scarred for life with what he just witnessed.

Eventually, all the magma went away, disappearing in an instant. Once they went away, Karla saw that the corpses of the enemy were dissipating into white particles, leaving her, her husband, and the Parrs as the only ones left of the carnage. That and the destruction from the battle that took place in the Happy Platter.

Seeing no more enemies left, Karla went towards her husband, her knight, as he laid on the ground, bleeding from all over his body, wounds from his battle with the enemy. Most of them were in his chest, but some were on his knees, where his armor was the weakest, and one on his right arm. Kneeling before him, Karla placed his head on her lap as she began to place her hands on his torso. Then her palms began to glow white. Soon circles of white light appeared before them, inscriptions on them of a strange language. They stayed for a brief moment before they disappeared. And with them, all of the Ashen one's wounds were completely healed. Once they were gone, the Ashen one looked up at his wife and smiled.

"And you say miracles are for fools." Said the Ashen one. "And yet you're here, using miracles to save me." Karla just glared at her husband.

"I may hate miracles and those that worship the gods that made them, but that doesn't mean I won't use them when the situation calls for it." Said Karla before placing her hands on his helmet, stroking it. "We need to tell the truth to the Parrs. The whole truth." The Ashen one just nodded, knowing she was right. With him fully recovered, the Ashen one got up and saw Bob going to Helen and Dash, who were recovering from the near death experiences they just had. Walking over to them, he asked if they were alright.

"Yeah, we're fine." Said Bob as he looked at the knight that saved Tony as well as his daughter. That alone made him eternally grateful to him. "Thanks for saving my daughter and her boyfriend, by the way. I'm in your debt." The Ashen one just nodded before speaking.

"Well, I can't let my son die, right? Nor his future wife." Said the Ashen one. Upon hearing that they all looked at the Ashen one in shock. Did he just say…

Chuckling a bit at their reaction, the Ashen one then lifted his helmet off of his head, revealing his face to them, causing them to widen their eyes in shock. Before them, was Tony's father, wearing ancient knight armor.

"What?" Asked Helen as she blinked in shock. Looking over at both Karla and Mr. Ryder, Helen began to form so many questions. Why they were wearing such archaic clothes? Who those people were? Who that woman was and why she hated Tony's father? And how Karla created magma from the ground. These questions swarmed her head until eventually they stopped when she saw Violet and Tony walking in, Jak-Jak in Violet's hands.

"Dad?" Asked Tony in shock at seeing his father in knight armor. Upon hearing his son's voice, the Ashen one sighed before looking at his son, a sad smile on his face.

"Hello son, I'd wanted to keep this secret for your whole life, but it seems that you must know now." Said the Ashen one as he went over to his son and hugged him. After a minute, he hugged back, hugging his father tightly with his mother walking up, a sad smile on her face as well. After another minute, the Ashen one and his son let go of each other and they, along with Karla, looked at the Parrs.

"I'm sorry that this all happened." Started Karla, an apologetic expression on her face. "Forgive me for all this." Seeing the sincerity in her apology, the Parrs looked at each other before Bob spoke up.

"We accept your apology, Mrs. Ryder." Said Bob, looking at the Ryders. The past events of the last few hours were shocking, but it wasn't enough for him to not think things through a bit. So long as they were easy and simple to do. "These…events were beyond your control. We're just glad that none of us were hurt much or worse."

"Thank you." Said the Ashen one. "And if you want to know more about what's going. Want the truth. Tell us now and we'll meet you at your home to discuss what is going on. And I promise you, we'll give you all the knowledge you need to know about those people and my past. Along with Karlas'." Upon hearing that Helen and Bob looked at each other. Knowing that they needed to know what was going on with the Ryders and who those people were, they agreed. Telling them to come to their home tomorrow night. Agreeing to that, the Ryders then allowed the Parrs to leave, promising to call the authorities about this. After the Parrs got in the car and left, Karla looked at the destruction of her family restaurant.

"This will cost a pretty penny to repair. All of it." Said Karla, looking at all the destruction with a sad expression on her face. "I thought our past wouldn't come to haunt us again. ***Sighs* **Wishful thinking on my part." Tony, wondering what was going on, looked at his mother and father, confusion on his face.

"Dad. Mom. What is going on!? Who were those people!?" Yelled Tony, scared. Sighing, the Ashen one hugged his son again and spoke.

"We'll explain tomorrow night. I promise son. For now, let's go home and contact the authorities." Said the Ashen one. Karla, sighing at that, then yelled out.

"Irina!" Yelled Karla. "Where are you!?" After a minute, Irina went out of the girl's restroom, holding her pregnant belly.

"Are they all gone?" Asked Irina, looking around at all the destruction. Having heard the first sounds of battle, Irina stayed in the woman's restroom, to fearful for her baby to do anything of note. Upon seeing Karla nod, she sighed in relief. "Good. My apologies for not helping, but my baby."

"It's fine Irina." Said the Ashen one. "You did the right thing. I just wish Eygon was here."

"He's here right now!" Yelled Eygon as he barged right in with a bunch of other knights, similarly dressed like him, giant hammer in his hands. Upon seeing the destruction and that it was just the Ashen one's family and Irina, he growled. Cursing himself for missing the action. "Damnit! I knew I should just come alone." Placing his hammer on his back, Eygon looked at the Ashen one and asked who it was.

"Someone from our past." Said the Ashen one, serious. "Someone we thought dead."

* * *

**Later**

**Meanwhile**

* * *

"***Screams*** We had him right in our palms!" Yelled Liliane as she screamed out her frustrations, fully recovered from her failed assault, towards several men in church garbs. Their stances showcasing their unease with their leader's anger. "I shed his blood and was about to finish him off, but then that whore stopped me!" Slamming her fist at a nearby wall, Liliane remembered Karla and how much she wanted to tear that woman in two. "Yuria should have killed her the second she saw that little witch." Taking a deep breath, Liliane looked at her men and ordered them to leave her alone, which they did eagerly. Once they were gone, she pondered on what to do now that the Ashen one knows of her existence. And now that he knew, his entire organization will try to find her and destroy her. She needed to lay low with the church for awhile.

* * *

**Tomorrow**

**Night**

**Parr residence**

* * *

"Well, today is the day we get our answers." Said Helen as she waited for the Ryders, particular Karla and Alex, to arrive and tell them the truth. After eating their dinner, they all assembled in the living room and waited for the Ryders to tell them everything. About those men that attacked them last night. What they were. And their past. Much as a part of Helen wanted to blame them for what happened to her family on them, especially Dash, she knew that was wrong. At least for now. She didn't know anything about their pasts and what they did to deserve something like this. Once she heard everything she needed to hear, she'll judge if they're a family worth being around.

"Indeed." Said Bob, thinking the same thing as Helen, wondering if the Ryders are what he initially thought of them.

"I just hope Tony won't be affected too much with what revelations they're going to give." Said Violet as she waited with her parents and siblings. Thought given what they all witnessed last night, she doubted it'll be anything small.

"Yeah." Mumbled Dash, uncharacteristically silent. It was due to the screams he heard when Karla finished their attackers. The screams of the men as they were being burned to a crisp. It kept him up at night to the point he slept until it was noon. Because of it, Helen allowed Dash to not go to school today. Normally it would be something that Dash would celebrate, but after what happened last night, he didn't care, much to Helen's and Bob's worry. Jak-Jak just starred curiously at his mother, wondering if everything will be alright after all this.

They waited for a few more minutes until the Ryders arrived. With them was Irina and a man in knight armor, but was different from the one that Alex wore and the ones that the men that attacked them last night.

After sitting on one of the coaches, Alex Ryder looked at the Parrs and spoke.

"Let's get straight to business." Said the Ashen one as he spoke, looking at the Parrs. "About everything." He then sighed. "We'll tell you the story of our past. How we met each other. How we meet those people that attacked us last night. And why they did so." The Ashen one then sighed before telling them the whole story.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**MrSo-I got no reason not to.**

* * *

**The past**

**Some graveyards**

* * *

In a land of mystery, there was a massive graveyard filled with coffins and graves, but most of these were open, their occupants missing. It was as if someone had dug them up and opened their caskets to steal both the body and whatever belonging was stored with the body. But that would be far from the actual case. No, what had happened was far more mythical than just grave robbing. In fact, one such open casket was having it's occupant rise up from their coffin, ashes falling off of their armor as they got up from their casket. The armor was medieval in nature and was, somehow, still in pristine condition as if it had just been assembled recently. The armor also masked whatever injuries that had killed the wearer, even their head was covered by the helmet of the armor.

As for the wearer themselves, they said nothing. They just looked beyond the horizon, towards the sun, a mysterious purpose was guiding them towards the sound of a bell. A bell that caused them to stir and get out of their coffin. Getting out of their coffin, the figure went out to the unknown, to both figure out what that bell sound was and what was the purpose of it, unbeknownst to them a purpose had been given to them. A purpose that they had failed initially and were being given a 2nd chance to redeem themselves.

* * *

**Present**

**Parrs home**

* * *

"So…you were dead? And you came back to life." Asked Helen in shock as she looked at Tony's father, who just nodded. The rest of her family was also looking in shock at the man along with his son. In any other day, they would have thought he was crazy, but with what happened last night and what they saw Karla did, they kind of had to believe him and his wife, no matter what insane nonsense they spout. The serious looks on Tony's parents as they spoke also helped.

"Yes, that is correct." Said the Ashen one. "I had died so long ago that I can't remember how I died and who I was before the day I returned to life. "Who I was prior to waking up and rising from that coffin. Gone. Who I knew prior to that. Gone. What family and friends I knew or had is long gone to me. What past…lovers I had are also gone. I've tried to look into it. Try to find traces of who I was and who I knew, but…nothing ever came." Upon hearing that and the sincerity behind it, the Parrs felt much sympathy for the man. Karla, sensing the pain of her husband was in as he recounted his failures of finding who he originally was, placed a delicate hand on his own, causing him to squeeze it in appreciation.

"But moving on, with nothing to my name except the weapons and armor on my person when I awoke, I journeyed to where the ringing of the bell occurred. A sort of shrine with five thrones in it. One of those thrones was occupied by a small man with dried up skin and wore a crown on his head. He and a blind woman told me of my purpose that day."

* * *

**Past**

**Shrine**

* * *

The recently risen knight looked at the shrine that was just before him. A reward for him in defeating that massive knight a few moments ago. That knight. Something had infected his body, coming out at the climax of the fight. His shock at seeing it virtually overtake the knight's body as well as creating a black serpentine head with glowing red eyes and a wooden, claw-like hand, nearly costed him his life, but he managed to defeat the infected knight and taking the sword that had been embedded in him, which he took before the fighting occurred. Now that he thought about it, though, that was probably what caused the fight in the first place.

Regardless of what had actually caused the fight to happen, he took the key that was left behind by the knight when he disintegrated into white particles after he defeated the knight and opened the door that lead out of the arena they fought it. That door lead him to the ruined remains of a shrine. Despite it's desolate and damaged state, the shrine had the bell that had awoke him. He just knew that it was. And if he was right, then that meant that someone had rung that bell, which meant that shrine was inhabited. And with nothing to lose, the knight went towards the shrine, passing some robbed figures that were just sitting around, doing nothing, not even giving him a glance. As he walked, the knight wondered what would await him when he finally arrived to the shrine. Was it another monster? A band of thieves? Or something that can help him remember who he was? Whatever it was, the knight was prepared for a fight should it come to it.

Making it inside the shrine, the knight saw that it was indeed occupied, if the hammering of metal was anything to go by. Walking inside, but cautious for any threat to him, he went to the inner chamber of the shrine. In that inner chamber, were five thrones of varying sizes. Out of those five thrones, only one was occupied by a small man with a crown. As he made his way to them, he noticed one man in full knight armor sitting on a flight of stairs covered in ashes, mopping over something. Ignoring the other knight, the first knight looked at a blond-haired woman in a dirty, ash covered, robe and skirt making her way towards him. As she got closer, the knight realized that she had a tiara on her forehead that also covered her eyes. Stopping just a few feet from the recently arrived knight, the woman spoke.

"Welcome to the bonfire, Unkindled One." Said the woman in a soft voice, looking at the general direction of the knight, despite her blindness. Before he could even speak in greetings, the woman continued. "I am a Fire Keeper. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. The Lords have left their thrones, and must be deliver'd to them. To this end, I am at thy side." Stunned, the knight didn't even know what to do when the woman pointed at the coiled sword on his back, the sword he taken from his last opponent. "Produce the coiled sword at the bonfire. The mark of ash will guide thee to the land of the Lords. To Lothric, where the homes of the Lords converge. From there, your journey will resume and the fate of the world can lay in your hands." Stunned even more, the knight stood looking at the woman as she patiently waiting for him to do what she instructed.

* * *

**Present**

* * *

"And so I eventually did what she asked." Said the Ashen one, recalling everything that day with perfect clarity. "I placed that sword at the bonfire at the center for that shrine, and then used that bonfire to, essentially teleport to this Lothric, which turned out to be a massive castle. It was there that I learned fully what my purpose was after being revived. I was brought back for the purpose of saving my world from some sort of darkness that would have brought the apocalypse on it by continuing an age that they called the age of fire. Or at least that was what some of my allies claimed. So, with nothing else to do, I accepted the task that fire keeper and that man on the throne bestowed upon me, which was to bring forth the other occupants of the thrones in that shrine for they have abandoned their duty, forcing me to bring them back by force." He was about to continue on when Bob interrupted him.

"Wait, you said your world." Said Bob, noticing that. "What do you mean by that?"

"It is exactly what I mean." Said the Ashen one. "Myself, my wife, my family," He gestured to Irina and the man in gargoyle like armor. "We all come from another world. One that we had to leave due to…strange circumstances." Everyone widened their eyes in shock at that. Another world? How was that possible.

"What happened?" Asked Violet, looking at her boyfriend's father as he explained all this. She heard of the multiverse theory, both on the internet and at school, but she never believed in such things, yet now there was seemingly proof of such a theory right before her eyes.

"I'll explain later that in due time." Promised the Ashen one. "But for now, listen." The Parrs frowned at that, but complied with the Ashen One's request. "Continuing on, the task they have given me proved to be more problematic than you might think. Nearly everything and everyone that I encountered has tried to kill me. Whether it by for my soul, my equipment, or just plain because it didn't matter. Countless things tried to kill me and some of them succeeding in it." That caused the Parrs and his son to widen their eyes in shock or disbelief, not understanding what he means. Karla then took this opportunity to explain.

"Before any of you ask, my husband speaks true." Said Karla. "He has died quite a bit since undertaking that quest from them. Some of which I've personally seen before my eyes." The sincerity of Karla's tone didn't detract to their disbelief on what Mr. Parr had just said, causing her to sigh. "We are, including Irina and her husband Eygon, are undead. When we die, we don't go to heaven, hell, or whatever afterlife you believe in, rather we just come back to the land of the living. No injuries on our physical bodies that can show what caused our death. This may sound hard to believe and coming straight out of a horror film or something from a fantasy novel, but I assure you. We are telling the truth." The Parrs, despite hearing the sincerity in Karla's voice, were shaking their heads in disbelief. Undead? Coming back to life. Other worlds? It was all too much to bear.

"I…I'm sorry, Mrs. Parr, but this is all…very hard to believe." Said Helen. There were a lot of superpowers in the world, all incredibly powerful in their own rights, but returning to life was not one of them. There never has been a recorded instance of a super having the ability to rise up from the dead like a zombie. It just didn't seem possible, even to those with superpowers.

"We know." Said Irina with sadness in her voice. "But it is all true. All of it. If you wish to have more proof, then we will provide it."

"And that we will, but I must finish my story." Said the Ashen one before looking at the Parrs. "If you will allow me to." Despite already having a great deal of overwhelming knowledge that was hard to believe, the Parrs allowed him to continue. Might as well continue with this insanity. "Thank you. As I said before, retrieving the quest was more difficult than you might think. Those, whose thrones demand their seating, have refused to accept their fates and forced me to fight them to the death. I…killed them and collected their ashes." The Parrs and his son reacted in horror at the thought of him killing those people and burning their remains to ashes for something. Tony, in particular, was horrified that his father, the man he looked up to, would do such a thing. This caused Karla to tell them to withhold judgement until he was completely finished. If they do so, or if they don't, then she informed them that she had a way to make them understand fully what her husband did. "Despite what you may think, I didn't kill them just like that. No, they put up a fierce fight. They've killed me many times as I tried to defeat them in combat. But each time I died, I rose up, either learning something new about their way of fighting or some weakness I can exploit or becoming stronger through ways that you may find abhorrent, and fought them again, eventually defeating them and collecting their ashes. But as my deaths continue to pile up and the more things that I encounter that try to kill me, I began to question my purpose. Was everything I was doing meaningless? The old man in the throne, Ludleth, said that I must bring these ashes to the thrones to use their power to save the world from a perpetual darkness, but I've seen the state of the world was in, learned that some of it was due to people trying to save the world from something they thought would be the end of everything, others just because. I've seen the results of those that had been killed or subject to persecution because their affiliation to the supposed doom to our world. My wife being amongst them. As my journey continued on and on, these thoughts continued to pile up until I decided to just end it all. Stop the age of fire and let the age of darkness, the one that some of my allies claim to bring about the end of all things. I told both the old man and the woman about my plan as well as all the allies I've gathered that survived up to that point. Surprisingly, they all understood my decision, some of even supporting it. Even those against ending the age of fire didn't stop me, believing that it was my destiny or choice to end the age of fire or continue it."

"But why?" Asked Violet. This all sounded insane, yet the serious looks on all the adults in Tony's family told her that it was all true, no matter how ludicrous some of it sounded. "Why did they agree to your decision so easily? Didn't you say that some people thought bringing this age of darkness would end the world?"

"He did." Said Karla. "To be honest, the old man, Ludleth, and the blind woman, going at the time the title of Firekeeper, along with one friend of ours, feared the age of darkness because they feared the unknown. What would become to all of the people in our world should it come? What would happen if the age of fire died? That fear was what allowed the age of fire to go on as long as it did. To go on long past it's time. It'll be explained later by us, but the age of fire went on far longer than it should have done. How this was done was by sacrificing powerful individuals with powerful souls to the source of the age of fire, using their life source as a way to sustain it, and as a result, extend the duration of the age of fire via unnatural means." She closed her eyes a bit before opening them again. "Many of done this over the course of tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of years, sacrificing their lives to sustain that accursed age until my husband time came and he choose to finally end it." Her husband nodded at that.

"And with that the age of darkness came, finally ending the age of fire and allowing that age to occur." Said the Ashen one. "As the name befitted for it, darkness came over the entire land as the age of fire died, but it wasn't anything like the stories I was told or read about it. The darkness was calming in a way, almost like a blanket you give to a child to calm them before sending them to sleep. It wasn't the nightmarish horrors that many tried to teach us about it. And so, for a time, I helped gather what people I befriended that could fight and we set out to find people out the world, teaching how to survive in this new age and help them adjust to it. We had a few downs over the years, some I like not to talk about, but, for the most part, we did good. Some people despaired at the coming age of darkness, but more have simply accepted it and tried to adapt as much as they can in the new age. And so, for around ten decades, life was good. Peace was in everyone's mind, but then something happened. A light overcame us all and we suddenly found ourselves in a new world. Your world." The Parrs and Tony were starting to get headaches from all this information, but still listened in to his words. I will admit, this world was much like our old world, but also much more different. Panic set in with our people, but we quickly restored order and began learning about the new world we were in. Once enough information was gathered, our leader at the time, a woman by the name Yorshka, decided to remain hidden from the world and it's supers, fearing we would be exterminated. Some of us protested at her decision, but her resolve was firm and we had no reason at the time to distrust her. And so, we remain hidden for a great amount of time, even integrating into your societies and learning your ways, including your weapons of war. For a time, we did nothing but watch as your people advance and grow. And with that, we grew as well, albeit in a slower rate. So, once again, we had a brief, albeit hidden, peace amongst your people, but then, remnants from our world appeared here. And they weren't as peaceful or understanding as us. Do you remember those monsters that those vagrants brought with them last night? The ones with skill masks?" When the Parrs nodded, the Ashen one continued. "They are amongst a group of creatures from our world that do nothing but bring death and misery to those that they laid their eyes on, whether it be human or animal. For a brief moment, they hunted and destroyed small villages and towns in more rural and underdeveloped parts of this world, but then they began going to the bigger cities and the like, attracting the attention of supers and the governments. When this began to occur, Yorshka found something for her people. We became, sort of, guardians to this world. Protecting it from monsters and people from our world, preventing our existence from being discovered by your governments as well as preventing the loss of innocent life. And that brings us up to speed, relatively anyway. Now, I know this all sounds unbelievable, and I understand that, but it is the truth. If you still don't believe me, then my wife has a way to make you all believe it. It's a bit intrusive, but if you still need evidence that I'm speaking the truth, then you must partake in it." With that, Karla spoke.

"It won't be anything hurtful, mind you." Said Karla. "I will be merely sharing memories of my husband and myself between us all. Nothing painful or anything. Although, I should note that some of the memories I saw will be quite graphic to watch and may not be suited for your children, Mr. and Mrs. Parr. So, unless you wish to take the words of my husband and myself, say that you'll wish to see evidence of this and I'll show you said evidence. What is your answer?" The Parrs looked at each other at that, unsure of what to do. On one hand, they had absolutely no reason to distrust Tony's parents. Not only did they give them a good impression of themselves during the dinner last night, but they helped them fight off their assailants as well, even saving Helen and Dash from them. But on the other hand, this all sounded so insane and unbelievable that they needed more evidence before they could fully commit to believing them. So, looking at each other, all of them unsure of what to do, they eventually decided to go through with Karla's offer of providing evidence.

"Alright." Said Bob, looking at Karla. "Show us this evidence. But you be sure it isn't too graphic. I don't want my kids scarred because of what you show us." Karla, needing to show this to her son as well, nodded in understanding.

"I understand." Said Karla before taking Tony's hand, squeezing it while giving her boy a smile, who returned it, albeit weakly. "My son will also be seeing them and though he is a young man, some of the memories me and my husband have are not for most people to endure. So, I'll be only showing the most important ones, though even then, some of them are graphic as well, but are needed for you to understand completely. Do you understand?" Bob and Helen, upon hearing that, wanted to protest, but Dash and Violet told them that it'll be fine and that they can handle a bit of blood and swearing. After a small argument between the Parrs, the two parents reluctantly allowed their kids to join in. With the group set in, Karla motioned for them all to stand in a circle around her and for Irina to take Jak-Jak, as he was absolutely not partaking in this venture. Once that was done and everyone was in a circle around her, Karla began to lifted up her hands, which then began to emit black flames that completely engulfed her hands, much to the Parrs' and Tony's surprise, even more so when Karla looked completely fine with having black flames all over her hands. She then went over to the Parrs and Tony individually, waving her black flame covered hands over them as she past each person in the circle. As she passed them, everyone noted that the flames weren't as hot as they thought. It was still hot, mind you, but not nearly as much as they thought they would be. They were akin to a cozy campfire with your family rather than a wild forest fire or an out of control fire in a building. Before any of them commented, Karla finished and brought out a piece of parchment from her left sleeve. "This may actually be a bit creepy for you all. So, bear that in mind." Before anyone could comment on that, Karla tossed the parchment to the ground where it began to glow black and white before engulfing them all in a veil of darkness. Jak-Jak screamed in alarm at this, but Irina, having knew prior hand about Jak-Jak and his abilities, waved her hands over him, causing small particles to flow over him. Whatever it was, it caused him to soundly fall asleep as this happened, preventing him from going berserk and causing harm to anyone. The Ashen one, meanwhile, watched as the veil completely formed, engulfing the rest of the Parr family, his wife, and son in a black cage with no way for them to see what's inside and vice versa. Once this was complete, the Ashen one prayed that the Parrs and his son can endure what they saw and that Karla would avoid the more…sensitive and violent memories away from them, for some things that he's seen in this quest at that time were best left for the strong willed and mind. They were not meant for the feint of heart.


End file.
